


It's Only A Paper Moon

by stbacchus



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Gets Social Links, Akechi Goro Lives, All Forms Of Akechi Are Valid, M/M, Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Plotty, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 46,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25770145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stbacchus/pseuds/stbacchus
Summary: After barely escaping death, Goro has a chance to rebuild the wreckage of his psyche and his life. Sae takes him under her wing, but just when he's starting to feel almost normal, the Metaverse comes back with a vengeance. How did Goro lose half his memories? Why is Shido covering for him? And just what is Takuto Maruki up to now?? ! SPOILERS for P5 and P5R !
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Lala Escargot, Akechi Goro & Maruki Takuto, Akechi Goro & Niijima Sae, Akechi Goro & Suzui Shiho, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren
Comments: 17
Kudos: 101





	1. Disintegration & The First Bond

**Author's Note:**

> Akeshu pairing will come in at around chapter 5. Goro has to get his life together a little!

_It's only a paper moon_  
_Sailing over a cardboard sea,_  
_But it wouldn't be make-believe_  
_If you believed in me_

**Prologue: Disintegration**

Goro Akechi - the real one, thank you - stumbled through the gaudy corridors of Masayoshi Shido’s palace. A bullet burned in his side, but as long as he wasn’t dead he supposed he might still get out of this.

Dispatching the puppet wasn’t as hard as he’d thought it would be; dumbass Shido had no idea what kind of powers Akechi had in here, so all the puppet had was a normal gun. Feh. Getting out of the locked engine room was far more difficult, but he did that too. He ended up crawling out some kind of vent, which luckily didn’t have any kind of covering on it. When he emerged onto the ship’s deck, he noticed the grate lying on the floor. So, it was open for him courtesy of those idiot Phantom Thieves. Perfect. He thought about hurling the grate into the sea, as a symbol of his feelings, but the blood loss was already making him a little woozy, so he left it alone and headed towards the foredeck.

Along the way, he dispatched a shadow or two, but they mostly avoided him now. Just as well. He finally made it out to the foredeck and fumbled around for his phone. Darkness was closing around his vision and what he could see was getting blurry. His last thought before passing out was, _I’m never going to get the blood out._

But then, to his surprise, he woke up again. Face down in a gutter, but still. It was more than he had dared hope. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the stars. In the middle of Tokyo you couldn’t really see them, but they were there. Akechi thought about how many millions of sins the stars had watched over in their time and smiled.

The sky shimmered. Akechi frowned. This didn’t quite look like reality, but it wasn’t the palace either. A little boy in a shiny silver robe wandered over.

“Good job!” said the boy.

“Help?” Akechi managed to croak.

“Ah, you need something.”

“Doctor,” said Akechi.

“Sorry, mister. I don’t have one of those. They said you were supposed to have one of these, though.”

From his pocket, he produced some kind of star-shaped object. When Akechi didn’t reach out for it, the boy put it directly into his hand. It felt a bit heavy and slightly warm to the touch, like a stone warmed in the sun.

“What...is this?”

“You should have had it from the beginning. Somebody made a mistake. Well, better late than never!”

With that, the boy skipped away, the sky shimmering around him. Akechi closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable. Getting up seemed very much out of the question. His limbs felt heavy and his fingers were cold. They curled around the strange warmth of the rock. In the distance, he could hear the wail of an ambulance siren and hoped it was coming his way.

Later, Goro Akechi would not remember the wish he made.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The First Bond**

It was months later, post-graduation, before any of the Phantom Thieves knew what became of Akechi. Makoto Niijima was the first, because her sister Sae was working on the Shido case. Dead or not, Akechi was one of the linchpins of the case. Makoto and the others had filled Sae in as much as they could, but of course he was the only one who knew exactly what he’d done for Shido. Which was why, when he claimed he knew nothing about any “meta-verse” or “other world” or “weird phone app,” Makoto was Sae’s first call.

Makoto agreed to come in and talk to him at the police station. She was familiar with the layout - more than any recent high school grad should be - but she didn’t know which interrogation room he’d be in. She hoped it wasn’t going to be the basement one; just thinking about what had happened there in the Metaverse was enough to give her chills.

Fortunately, the room in question was on the main floor, mere feet away from dozens of police officers. She felt another chill and looked around for an air conditioning vent. Just nerves, maybe.

There were two armed guards at the door; Sae nodded at them and they nodded back.

“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” said Sae, but did not insult Makoto by asking if she was prepared.

He was sitting with ankles and wrists shackled together and to the table, which was bolted to the floor. Goro Akechi looked up at her with a blank expression as she sat down opposite him.

“Hello, Akechi-san,” she said neutrally.

“Niijima...Makoto Niijima?” he said. “Yes...I met you at your school’s festival. If Sae-san asked you here, I don’t know what she’s expecting.”

“She didn’t spend any time with you in the Metaverse, so I suppose she wanted a firsthand account.”

He sighed. “This again. It’s like I told Sae-san. I don’t remember anything about some kind of alternate reality. She claims I murdered people...well, I guess she has the evidence to prove it, but I still don’t remember.”

Makoto nodded. “That briefcase you always carried around had a gun in it, right? Even so, all your crimes took place in the Metaverse.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “You didn’t even need a real gun for that, you know.”

“If you say so.”

She took out her phone and flipped through the gallery, then flipped it around to show him a photo. It was all the Phantom Thieves together, taken during the brief time Akechi had been on the team. He looked it over, but showed no sign of recognition.

“All these people are wearing masks,” he said flatly. “Is one of them supposed to be me?”

Makoto pointed. “That’s you, in the white suit and the red mask. It’s the symbol of your rebellious soul.”

He rolled his eyes. “Now I know you’re messing with me.”

Makoto flipped through her gallery again until she found the photo Ren-kun had sent her. He was still in his hometown, but he’d wanted to help in some way. It was a selfie of Ren and Akechi, sitting at a small table with drinks and smiling happily.

“How about this one?” she asked.

He brightened a little.

“I do remember this. We’re at the jazz club in Kichijoji. Probably my favorite place in the city. This is my...my friend. Where is he now?”

“You don’t remember shooting him in the head with a handgun?” said Makoto sharply, dodging the question. “It happened in a room a lot like this one.”

Akechi blanched and looked back down at his hands. “Come on. If I took him to Jazz Jin, we must have been close.”

“You were. He was your best friend,” she said softly, letting a bit of sadness creep into her voice. “We all regretted how things turned out.”

She was just playing along to see what he would do, but to her surprise, she saw a tear drip off his cheek and onto the table. Given his state of mind the last time they’d spoken, this was not what she was expecting. Especially since he had to know Ren wasn’t really dead - that is, if he truly was faking. He rubbed at his eyes like a kid, blushing, furiously embarrassed.

“I get it now,” he said brokenly. “Just bring me the papers. I’ll sign whatever you want.”

Makoto looked back at the one-way mirror, startled. Outside the interrogation room, Sae nodded in admiration. Admittedly, she’d been skeptical when Makoto told her she wanted to become a police officer, but watching her smoothly draw out a criminal like this was downright inspiring.

Sae had banged the table and coerced and cajoled, but it hadn’t worked any better on Akechi than it did on Amamiya. In fact, it was Akechi’s consistency that made Sae call Makoto for a second opinion. His absolute refusal to give her a confession reminded her strongly of Amamiya and the mistakes she’d made with him. Still, she needed Akechi’s confession to help make the case against Shido, so she pushed away her doubts. 

Sae entered the room and placed a stack of papers on the table. For each person Akechi attacked in the Metaverse, Sae had prepared a confession. These were brief, because the overall scope of his crimes was covered in the final document, the most important one: the one that tied him to Masayoshi Shido.

Akechi took a moment to collect himself. Sae waited while he read through each confession expressionlessly. When he reached the end, he looked up with blank, dead eyes.

“If I confess to these murders...they’ll be hung like a noose around the neck of Masayoshi Shido?”

“Certainly. You are the piece that connects Shido to these incidents.” Sae’s brow pinched together. “Why did you choose to work for him, anyway? That’s something I was never able to figure out.”

“You mean, how did two murderous pieces of gutter trash join forces to ruin all these lives?” Akechi looked up at her with an unsettling gaze. “The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, that’s how.”

Sae squinted at him, trying to make sense of this cryptic statement. “Just to clarify, are you telling me --”

“Yes. My mother was Shido’s mistress until she got pregnant. My birth ruined their relationship - and her life. If I destroy him as well, that could be called justice. It’s symmetrical, at least.”

Sae’s eyes popped open. His mother had some serious problems and he held Shido responsible. That explained a lot - no, rather, it changed her perception of what she already knew. Like a photo negative developed into living color, suddenly she was seeing Goro Akechi in an entirely new way.

“What about _your_ life?” said Sae.

Akechi just shook his head. “Me? Who cares? Who’s even left to care?”

“Akechi-kun…” said Makoto softly, turning the pen over and over in her hands. Even after all that had happened between the Phantom Thieves and Akechi, Makoto still had some sympathy for him. And she hadn’t been surprised at all by his revelation; it was obvious now that Makoto knew a lot more about him than Sae did.

Sae bit her lip. If she was honest with herself, she hadn’t given Akechi her full attention. The Shido case was so big and so important and she felt like she knew all she needed to know about his junior hitman...she’d just set his file aside and moved on.

One thing she did know - something she couldn’t forget - was that he had only been 14 years old when he’d contacted Shido. A child, still in middle school. According to Shido, everything he’d done since then had been at Shido’s command. His _father’s_ orders. She thought again of Amamiya, the boy she’d nearly railroaded into prison, again because of Shido’s influence.

“I’m going to need that if you want me to sign these, Niijima-san,” said Akechi, pointing at Makoto’s pen.

Sae looked over at her little sister. She’d been so young when their father died, leaving them orphans. What would have happened if she hadn’t been old enough to look after Makoto? She would have been left to the mercy of the foster care system, as Akechi was. She took Makoto’s hand and squeezed it, sliding the pen out as she did so.

“No,” said Sae. “Don’t sign anything. Don’t speak to anyone with a badge.”

Akechi and Makoto stared at her in astonishment as she calmly pocketed the pen and collected the confession papers.

“You have a badge,” Akechi pointed out.

Sae took it off and laid it on top of the folder with the confession papers. “The prosecutor’s office was out of line interrogating a minor without so much as a warning. Goro Akechi, I would like to represent you in court, if you would accept my counsel.”

A smirk creeped across his face, a shadow of the “other” Akechi that Makoto had met during their tangle with Dr. Maruki.

“Do you really want your first case as a defense attorney to be an utter disaster?” he asked. “Because that’s what’s going to happen if you take me as a client.”

Sae shook her head resolutely. “If you don’t trust me, I can understand that. I can refer you to another lawyer if you’d prefer. I’m just...I’m tired of being the wheel that grinds others down.”

Akechi thought that over. “If you’re serious, then okay. I’ll place my life in your hands.”

He held out his hand and they shook, sealing the deal.

* * *

A short time later, Makoto and Sae were sitting at the outdoor bar of a ramen shop, slurping noodles.

Sae polished off a second beer and waved at the proprietor for another. Makoto gave her a stern look, which she ignored. She was celebrating. And calming her nerves. In any case, drinking was called for.

“So, was I the only thing keeping you at the prosecutor’s office or what?” said Makoto. “Because I _just_ got my new place and this feels really sudden.”

“No, I’ve been thinking about quitting for a while now. I wanted to wrap up the Shido case first, but…” Sae trailed off.

Makoto shook her head in bemusement. “Does it really matter that much that Shido is his father?”

“Of course. It changes everything. Shido had a tremendous amount of power over him, far more than if he were just some unrelated kid.”

Makoto arched an eyebrow. “I think your new client would be the first to say _he_ was the one who had power over Shido. He’s the one with the big secret to reveal, after all.”

“Did he show you any proof?” asked Sae.

“No, but…. You think he didn’t have evidence of his claim?”

Sae shrugged. “I doubt it. What could he possibly have other than hearsay from a dead woman? Meanwhile, Shido had the ability to make his every wish come true. Not just power or fame, but a family, a stable home...a future.”

“I never thought of it that way,” said Makoto, wondering if all this had occurred to Ren-kun. Probably, knowing him.

“I tried to keep our lives secure so you’d never need to think about such things. Makoto, how much do you know about Akechi, anyway? You already knew about him, and don’t think I didn’t notice. How did you find out?”

“He told all of us. I got the impression that he wanted people to understand him, despite all his problems.”

“I thought so too.” Sae sat back, thinking. After a moment, she said, “Can I ask your opinion?”

“Of course.”

“Do you think I’m making a mistake representing Akechi?”

Makoto was a little flustered. Sis, asking _her_ opinion about something like this? Things really were changing. She thought carefully before replying.

“No, I don’t think it’s a mistake. When I said we all regretted how things turned out...that was the truth. I’m glad he has someone like you fighting for him.”

“You really got him to open up, you know. You could be quite the interrogator if you wanted to be,” said Sae with a smile.

“Then I guess that makes us rivals, _counselor_ ,” said Makoto, grinning back. “Anyway, you should talk to Ren-kun if you want to know more about Akechi. Although maybe you should have done that _before_ you quit your job? Just a thought.”

While Sae paid the bill, Makoto’s attention drifted to the TV in the corner, which was now showing a news broadcast.

_“...Another psychotic breakdown case, despite police assurances that the suspects are already in custody. The victim, Osamu Hamada, was a veteran of the Japan Self-Defence Forces...”_

Makoto and Sae looked at each other.

“Akechi was the only one who had that ability, and he’s been in custody of one sort or another for months,” Sae mused. “How is this possible?”

Makoto shook her head helplessly. “Sis...it isn’t.”


	2. The Empress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace attorney Sae Niijima outlines her case in Akechi's bail hearing. Elsewhere, Takuto Maruki continues his cognitive psience research.

Sae’s first act as Akechi’s counsel was to set up a bail hearing. She met him at the courthouse and he was transferred into her custody by a bailiff.

“How are you holding up?” she asked, observing some fresh bruises on his face.

He shrugged. “Turns out cops don’t like it when you make them look like idiots. Who knew?”

Sae knew, of course, but she had turned a blind eye because she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She felt ashamed of her inaction, but there was no time to dwell on it. They were summoned inside and took their places on the defendant’s side of the room. Sae looked around. She had never been on this side before; it was an entirely new perspective.

The judge entered and took his seat at the dais. “What are you doing over there, Niijima-san?” he asked.

Sae stood and bowed respectfully. “Representing my client, Your Honor.”

“Is that so? Have you been let go from the prosecutor’s office?”

Ignoring that jab, Sae said simply, “No, Your Honor. I’ve resigned. I’m going into private practice.”

“If this boy has any assets, the police will need to look into it,” said the judge sharply. “I assume you’re not being paid in blood money?”

“Of course not, Your Honor. My work here is pro bono, and you’ll find that Akechi-san has been most cooperative.”

“He ought to be, considering the amount of money the state has invested in him so far.”

The judge waved a file folder that Sae assumed contained records of Akechi’s years in state-run homes and foster care. She’d read the file cover to cover, so she knew he hadn’t been any particular burden; just a child with needs like any other. Just like she and Makoto would have been, if their father had died a few years earlier.

“Opposing counsel seems to be running late,” said Sae, glancing up at the clock.

The judge waved her off. “Never mind that,” he grunted. “You’re the one who dropped this case in some young man’s lap.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

The prosecutor finally showed up, nearly fifteen minutes late, exchanged a few words with the judge, then sat down to review his notes. The judge waited an additional five minutes without complaint while the tardy prosecutor prepared.

“Is this going well or badly?” Akechi leaned over to ask _sotto voce_.

“I used to be on friendly terms with Judge Kubo, so...it’s not exactly auspicious.”

He looked down despondently at his hands. “I told you this was going to be a disaster.”

She frowned at him, tapping her hand on the table to get his attention. “If you don’t believe I can represent you, then we should part ways right here and now. Just say the word.”

Startled, he looked up. “N-no, that’s not what I meant. Of course I believe in you, Sae-san.”

“I’m going to give it my all in here. I expect the same from you. Clear?”

“Crystal.”

He sat up a little straighter in his chair and folded his hands. Making an effort. Sae nodded in satisfaction. She couldn’t very well defend someone who wasn’t going to defend himself.

The prosecutor began, “The prisoner, Goro Akechi, has been accused of a number of violent crimes. He was, in fact, prepared to sign confessions regarding all of them just yesterday.”

“Oh? So why didn’t he?” asked the judge.

“Because _she_ told him to stop speaking to us,” said the prosecutor. “Furthermore, the brief which Niijima-san herself prepared, alleges that he holds some sort of...superpower...allowing him to commit these particular crimes. The prosecutor’s office believes that he is a threat to the community and should be denied bail.”

Sae turned to the judge. “Your Honor, I refute the claim that Akechi-san is a threat. In fact, he no longer has the abilities he once did.”

“Then how do you explain the current crop of psychotic breakdowns?” the prosecutor challenged.

“He could hardly have caused those from inside a jail cell. If you intend to charge him with those incidents, be my guest...but I wouldn’t.”

“Watch your tone, counselor,” the judge warned. “Niijima-san, I see from your brief that Akechi-san is a minor with no living arrangements or other means of support. Where is he going to live?”

“With me, Your Honor,” said Sae.

The prosecutor leered. “With _you_? Are the rumors true, then…?”

Sae didn’t even deign to look at him as she answered calmly, “There’s no hidden agenda. My sister is on her way to college and I have a spare room. I’ll see to it he continues his education while he awaits trial.”

“I see you’re the one offering to post bail as well, Niijima-san,” said the judge. “Are you sure you aren’t a bit...personally involved here?”

Sae nodded. “Indeed, Your Honor. I worked with Akechi-san for dozens if not hundreds of hours. I knew him as well as anyone, yet...I couldn’t help him. I was in the best position to see the trouble he was getting into and I failed utterly. So you see, this _is_ very personal.”

Akechi looked up at her, genuinely touched. She set a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“You couldn’t help him? He’s a contract killer!” said the prosecutor.

“He’s seventeen years old,” countered Sae. “The alleged killings were directed by Masayoshi Shido. Absent Shido’s influence, Akechi-san is perfectly harmless.”

“I get it,” said the prosecutor, adopting a reasonable, patient tone. “The kid had us all fooled, you especially. Makes sense you wouldn’t want to admit the truth.” His eyes hardened. “Your client is a sociopath. I hope you aren’t expecting a nice thank-you card.”

Sae gazed at him levelly. “If you have any arguments _not_ based on personal conjecture and speculation, by all means, do share. I’ll refute those too.”

“Speculation?” the prosecutor scoffed. “What else are _you_ offering?”

“She’s asked the court to consider the prisoner’s age and the influence of his criminal associates,” said Judge Kubo. “Do you have any facts to suggest he’d be dangerous even in Niijima-san’s custody?”

Rattled, the prosecutor shuffled through his notes. 

“You aren’t going to find anything in the brief I wrote,” Sae couldn’t resist saying.

The prosecutor narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “If you quit your job, and this penniless student is your only client...how can you provide yourself a home, much less support both of you?”

Sae blinked. She’d barrelled ahead so fast with this plan that she hadn’t thought it all the way through. She had some savings, but the truth was, it was pretty much a leap of faith.

Beside her, Akechi cleared his throat. “If I may...I can get a job and contribute my income. I worked and kept my grades high last year as well.”

“You were a _fraud_ ,” the prosecutor spat.

“I still got paid,” said Akechi blandly.

“Enough,” said Judge Kubo. “Very well, Niijima-san. I’ll set bail, and it’ll be up to you to take responsibility for this boy. Your finances are your own problem.”

“If he’s going to be released, the prosecutor’s office demands an ankle monitor,” said the prosecutor. “Consider the magnitude of the crimes. We can’t make a mistake here.”

Sae opened her mouth to protest that GPS monitoring was for convicted criminals, not those awaiting trial, but the judge was too fast.

“Seems like a reasonable compromise. So ordered,” said the judge, cutting off Sae’s argument. “This hearing is adjourned.”

As the judge exited the room, the prosecutor sidled up to the table and leaned down over Sae. “We always knew there was something going on with you and that kid,” he sneered. “Must have been humiliating, boning a high schooler to get ahead in your career….”

“ _What?_ ” Akechi growled, curling his hand into a fist, but the prosecutor wasn’t even looking at him.

Sae just laughed in the prosecutor’s face. “Hilarious. Maybe if you invested as much thought in your cases as you do in excuses for your poor performance, you wouldn’t be eating my leftovers.”

Red-faced, the prosecutor growled, “I’m going to tell everyone about this,” and stalked away.

“Sae-san...what was that about? Were there really such rumors?” asked Akechi.

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s not about you. Anytime I stepped on some man’s pride, they liked to take me down a peg. This is about the laziest possible way to do it, so you can imagine how many people I’ve supposedly slept with. Every man in this building...most of the women...probably some pets….”

“A woman of some accomplishment, I see.”

She snapped a sharp nod. “And don’t you forget it.”

After some adventures in bureaucracy, Sae and Akechi took the subway from the courthouse to her apartment. On the way, they picked up a take-out dinner and a six-pack.

Settled at the dinner table, Sae popped the top off one of the beers.

“Do I get one of those?” Akechi asked hopefully.

She gave him a bottle of soda and a very stern look. He held up his hands and smiled innocently.

“All right, all right. Just kidding. Dare I ask what happened to your car?”

“You know what happened to it. I put it up as collateral for your bail.”

“I thought so. Sae-san...I hope you don’t find this question insulting. Actually, I’m asking because I have a lot of respect for you. What is it you’re hoping to gain from this?”

“You mean, do I expect repayment or is this nothing more than an ego trip?”

“I, ah, wouldn’t have put it so bluntly, but....”

“Akechi-kun...I put everything I have on the line, all in. I want you to see - by my actions, not just my words - that I believe in you.”

Bewildered, he burst out, “But you know perfectly well that I’m guilty! There’s not going to be a turnabout, there’s no saving the day, no rescue.”

“Of course not. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to build a case on. It definitely doesn’t mean there’s nothing to believe in. By the way,” she added with a smile, “now you know why I never took you out for the good sushi. It wasn’t because I didn’t like you. So, are we in this together?”

“Together...as equals. I appreciate that.”

Sae took a long swig and thought for a moment. “You know, thinking back, I wish I’d relied on Makoto more. I tried to give her a normal childhood when it never could have been…. You’ll tell me if I’m overcorrecting, won’t you?”

Akechi shook his head. “I don’t want to be treated like a child. I’d much rather you overestimated me than the opposite.”

“Glad to hear it. Because I can’t do it alone.”

* * *

In a sparkling laboratory, a man in a lab coat spun around in a high-backed chair, chewing on a pen. He had kicked off his sandals and they were lying unheeded nearby. There was a gleaming bank of monitors displaying various scenes, but he was ignoring them, holding a notebook and staring into the middle distance.

On one side of the room was a door, the kind of thick security door found in prisons and mental hospitals. On the other side of the room, which held an examination table and some shelves filled with medical supplies, a teenage boy in a striped blue-black jumpsuit and black mask paced sullenly.

“You know, most people imagine jails as kinda grimy and depressing,” said the boy, frowning at the shining white floors and soothing blue walls.

The man in the white coat looked over at him. “Why?”

“Because that’s what prisons are like. It’s the truth.”

“Sure, but if I’m going to spend my time somewhere, why not make it pleasant?”

“Why spend your time in a prison at all if you have any other options?” said the boy.

A troubled look passed over the doctor’s face. “You know perfectly well this isn’t a prison.”

The boy cocked his head to one side. “So you could leave anytime you want then?”

“Maybe this is where I’m meant to be,” said the man, shrugging.

The boy narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, maybe. You’re pretty good at brainwashing. That’s what you’re doing here, isn’t it, Dr. Maruki?”

“No...at least, I don’t think so. What do you call what you did to these people, Akechi-kun?”

“I unchained their hearts,” said Akechi, with a grin that bared his teeth.

“Yet it left them lifeless husks. Doesn’t seem very free to me. My procedure should avoid that. You could help me if you wanted to,” suggested Maruki.

“Help you? I _hate_ _you_ and everything you stand for,” growled Akechi.

Maruki smiled. “That’s a shame, because I’m rather fond of you.”

Akechi’s eyes flicked up to the monitors. “Oh, is that what _that’s_ all about?”

On one of the monitors, Akechi - in his school uniform - sprawled out on a leather couch somewhere, surrounded by textbooks. A light-haired woman sat on the other side of the couch, watching TV. Screen Akechi raised his head from his books and the woman looked over at him and seemed to be answering a question.

“Just part of my research,” said Maruki. “Who’s the woman? Your benefactor?”

Akechi scoffed. “Sae Niijima? She’s not _my_ benefactor. She doesn’t even know _me_. All she knows is that vapid pile of designer clothes up there.”

“I suppose,” said Maruki thoughtfully, chewing on the pen again. “Do you think she wouldn’t like you if she met you?”

“Who cares?” snapped Akechi. “Let that ambulatory clip-on tie have that life. Let him live a lie if he wants to. I don’t give a shit. It has nothing to do with me.”

With that, the black-masked Akechi turned his back on Maruki and stomped away toward the opposite wall. There was a vent there that led outside, but Maruki had never tried to use it.

The doctor turned back to the bank of monitors and started jotting down notes. He had some ideas about what had happened to Akechi, but nothing solid - there was so much about the Metaverse that was unknown. It was exciting to think about, to imagine the possibilities of tapping directly into the unconscious mind.

True, he had tried once before to use the Metaverse to better mankind, and that hadn’t gone well. But scientists learned as much from their failures as their successes. On the wall, Maruki had a poster of Thomas Edison with a quote attributed to the famous inventor: “I have not failed. I have just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”

Takuto Maruki had already filled a dozen notebooks with his failures. Perhaps he was due for a success.


	3. The Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro restarts his third year of high school and meets Shiho Suzui, a new transfer student

Akechi started the spring semester as essentially a transfer student in his own school. The principal was aware of his legal problems and didn’t want to let him come back at all. However, Sae-san brought Akechi in on Saturday and nearly rattled the roof off with the force of her arguments. It was entertaining to watch; her skills had been honed in the courtroom and a mid-level bureaucrat like a school principal had no such experience.

When she was done, the principal turned to Akechi, looking like he’d just been through a tornado, and asked Akechi to make a statement on his own behalf. Perhaps hoping he’d screw it up and give the principal a reason to deny the request.

Akechi stood, straightened his tie, bowed, and said, “Sir, I’ve been at the top of my class every year I’ve spent here. Both years, I earned a scholarship without the help of any tutors or special classes. I even held down a job at the same time. I can guarantee you I’ll be a model student. I’d even take my classes virtually, if that would make things easier.”

The principal thought about that for a moment, frowning. It was tempting, but…. “Virtually? No, I don’t think so. You’ll come here every day. No more special treatment. In fact, I’ll be expecting _more_ out of you than the other students. Do you understand?”

“Of course, sir.” Akechi bowed.

“Is that acceptable to you, Niijima-san?”

“Perfectly.”

As they left, the principal called out, “Just remember - if the pressure is too much, that can’t be considered my problem. I won’t tolerate complaining.”

“Well, he’s made his feelings clear,” said Akechi. “He’d like me to drop out and stop causing problems.”

“I suspect some of those problems will come at his instigation, too,” said Sae. “I know Makoto’s principal made life hard for her at times. Tell me if you have any problems, I’ll be here to help.”

“Hah. Amamiya-kun finished out his year at Shujin with the same kind of pressure. I won’t lose to him.”

Sae grinned mischievously. “Hmm, you or Amamiya...that’s a toughie. I’d give...25-to-1 against.”

“What! I’m appalled. We’re far more evenly matched than that.”

She shrugged. “I’ll shorten the odds if there’s a good reason.”

They’d reached the school entrance. She waved and left him there, annoyed. Twenty-five to one? _Twenty-five to one?!_

He was almost late to class. No more cutting. He hurried to the stairs, only to find that in the passing time crush, some girl was moving like a snail. He sighed, taking tiny steps behind her. This wasn’t a great start. Suddenly, her bag crashed to the floor and everything spilled out. In the past, that would have set him off. But this was the _new_ Goro Akechi, the _best_ Goro Akechi. Twenty-five to one against Amamiya, _puh-lease_.

He muscled over and blocked the staircase to keep the other students from trampling the girl and her things. Grumbling, some of the other students turned back and some tried to sneak around, but he stopped the worst of the damage. The bell rang, the last few stragglers made it through and the stairs cleared out. Akechi scooped up the girl’s things quickly and efficiently. He was late, but he didn’t have to be _that_ late.

When he turned to hand over her papers, though, he found that she was sitting on the stairs with her head in her hands.

“I’m sorry, but...are you all right?” he asked gently.

“Oh, I just...just leave that there. I’m fine.”

_Amamiya would never let this go_ , he thought. _That busybody idiot._

He set her things to the side and sat down next to her. “I don’t think I know you - are you new?”

She nodded miserably. “My name’s Shiho Suzui. I’m a second-year.”

“Goro Akechi. Third.”

“Oh, an upperclassman. And here I thought I couldn’t embarrass myself any more.”

Akechi chuckled. “It’s fine. May I ask why you were having so much trouble on the stairs?”

She took a deep breath and took her head out of her hands. Akechi handed her a handkerchief, which she took gratefully.

“I...had an accident last year. I’ve been working so hard, but my strength still isn’t back to where it used to be.”

“Ah, I see. It so happens I spent some time in the hospital this year, too.”

“Really? You seem pretty healthy,” she said in surprise, dabbing at her eyes.

“I also had an accident, but not as serious as yours, it seems.”

“They told me I should use a cane or a wheelchair, but I didn’t want to...so I made an even bigger scene.”

“Tell you what, why don’t I carry your things for you? Would that make it easier?”

“O-oh, I can’t impose that much…”

“Just for now. It’s the least I can do.”

Shouldering her backpack, he held out his arm for her to take on the stairs. Still hesitant, she took it and leaned on him all the way up the stairs. He escorted her to her classroom, handed over her backpack, and said goodbye.

His teacher didn’t say anything when he finally got to class, but afterwards he was treated to a dressing-down that lasted so long he was late to his _next_ class. All the teachers seemed to be on high alert; things they would have let slide last year had become misdemeanors. He looked out the window; the sky was dark, a storm brewing.

* * *

At the end of the day, Akechi couldn’t quite bring himself to go straight home. Feeling anxious, he dragged his feet, missed his train, and ended up getting back to Sae’s apartment two hours late.

When he got there, rain was beating against the windows and Sae was on the phone. She held it away from her ear and he could hear a raised voice from the other end. He prepared himself. Every place he’d ever lived, a call like this would be followed by either a beating or a berating, or both.

Finally, she set the phone down. “Welcome home. Are you okay?” she asked.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded. _Okay? What kind of crazy trap is this, anyway?_

“It’s five o’clock and you’re sopping wet. I’m asking if you’re doing all right,” she repeated evenly. “Nothing happened to you after school?”

“I...missed my train and got caught in the storm.”

“Ah, I see. Do you want to take a bath before dinner?”

_A bath? A bath?!_ “What about that phone call?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that. Let’s talk about it after dinner. Go get changed and I’ll make something warm to eat.”

After warming up in the tub, Akechi felt much better. He couldn’t quite shake the anxious feeling that Sae was angry, but rationally he knew it wasn’t true. Had she acted angry, even for a minute? No. As promised, she’d even made some hot tea and miso soup to go along with the meal.

“I’m sorry about how I acted earlier,” he mumbled into his soup. “I...I can’t really explain it.”

“You thought I’d be angry?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Shido would have been angry,” she said. “I suppose you expected a fight.”

He nodded again.

“It’s understandable. A strong personality like that...you got to know his moods, learned how to anticipate what he wanted. I’m not him, though.”

“I know that.” He sighed, feeling stupid. Why had he been so upset earlier? Now it seemed completely irrational.

“I know you know, but sometimes it helps to hear it,” said Sae kindly. “Setting that aside, what happened during school today?”

He explained about Suzui, about how she’d made him late to begin with and it wound up causing him trouble throughout the day. “And this is why I don’t butt into other people’s business,” he finished. “I don’t know how Amamiya got away with it, to be honest.”

“You really want to know how he did it?” she asked, setting her chopsticks down.

“Yeah, I do. What’s so special about him?”

“He always bet on others, even when the chips were down. They rose to his expectations.”

Akechi thought that over, but he didn’t know what she meant. If he was just going to get in trouble for helping Suzui, that didn’t seem like it was good for anybody. Anyway, what could she possibly do for him?

He shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“I have an idea. I think I can finagle things so that the tardies from today are removed _and_ you don’t have to worry about it in the future. You’re going to have to work at it...but it isn’t a punishment. It’s an opportunity for growth.”

“When you put it that way, how can I say no?” he sighed.

She smiled and picked up her phone.

“Principal…? Yes, this is Sae Niijima. Yes, I certainly did hear about what happened today. You have a disabled girl on campus. Doesn’t she have an aide to help her get around? Yes, I’m sure that _would_ be expensive. Oh, you suggested she use a wheelchair. Mmhm. And how is she supposed to get that up the stairs? Because I didn’t see any kind of elevator or lift when I was there. Mmhm. I have a friend over in Urban Development, I could get an inspector in to take a look….”

Akechi raised his eyebrows at that. Sae winked at him.

“Oh, you’d rather not go through a full inspection,” she continued. “How about this, then: Akechi will carry Suzui’s things and you will give both of them all the time they need to get to their classes. You can consider it a service to the school. Yes, a _service_. It would be fine if you wanted to pay him instead. No? Service is fine? Then you’ll remove the tardies from his record, naturally. Mmhm. Good. It’s settled, then.”

* * *

On Monday morning, Akechi got to school early and waited near the front doors. Suzui arrived and gave him a subtle smile, not wanting to embarrass him. He smiled back and held out his hand. She objected again, but when he insisted she allowed him to take her bookbag. He waited for her outside each of her classes, carrying her bag and showing her the best routes through the large campus. It was a hassle, but it was also a bit gratifying to have someone to show around.

At the end of the day, as they walked towards the school entrance, Suzui said, “I heard about what happened yesterday. Isn’t this just going to get you in trouble again?”

“Not at all. Things have been arranged so we both have enough time to get to class. Assuming you don’t mind, of course, I’m happy to help.”

“Really? Wow. Even my parents couldn’t get them to agree to that. I got the feeling…” she trailed off, self-conscious. “No, never mind.”

He turned the charm up, putting on the most innocent look he could summon. “If you’re uncomfortable, I can call things off. I don’t want to be a bother.”

As expected, she melted instantly. “Oh, no. Actually, things were a lot easier with your help today. I’d be grateful if you kept doing it.”

He smiled radiantly. “Then we have a mutually beneficial arrangement. No need to worry.”

* * *

Elsewhere, another Akechi was laid out full-length on an examination table, leaking blood everywhere.

“Sorry about the table, Doc,” said Akechi. “And the floor. And your clothes.” He wasn’t really sorry. Mostly, he was just trying not to pass out. Talking was difficult at the moment, but the pain kept him awake.

“Don’t worry about it. That’s what the coat’s for. What the heck did you encounter out there, anyway?” said Maruki, cleaning off the blood and wrapping a wound with gauze.

“Nothing I haven’t faced before, but...I can’t summon my Persona anymore, so I was stuck with just a…a cheap plastic sword and a toy ray gun.”

“I see. You’ve been surviving here with all these shadows just by your wits, huh?”

“What choice do I have?” Akechi let his eyes drift shut, exhausted.

They were silent for a moment as Maruki concentrated on bandaging. Unlike his doppelganger in the waking world, this Akechi remembered what Maruki had done in January and was still angry about it. Nevertheless, he had a feeling the doctor would help him if he asked, and he didn’t have any other options. So here he was.

“Hey...you don’t have anything to eat, do you?” said Akechi, opening one eye. The other one was rapidly swelling shut.

Maruki brightened. “Do I have snacks! Of course! Do you prefer sweet or salty?”

“Salty. Well, anything. Whatever. Bring them over.”

Maruki rummaged around in one of the cabinets underneath his bank of spy monitors and brought over an armful of crinkly packages. 

“Should’ve thought of this right away,” mumbled Akechi, opening a bag of chips and dumping the entire thing straight into his mouth. “Do you have any Umaibo?”

Maruki held out a fistful of brightly-colored sticks with a cartoon cat grinning from the wrappers.

“Of _course_ you have Umaibo.” Feeling better already thanks to the chips, Akechi grabbed a random selection.

“Ew, is that shrimp mayonnaise? I can’t believe I bought that,” said Maruki, picking through the remainders.

“Trade you for an apple pie.”

They swapped and Maruki happily ate the crunchy pie-flavored snack, washing it down with a juice box. As they ate, Maruki watched curiously while Akechi’s wounds patched themselves up. The swelled eye shrank back down and the ugly bruising underneath disappeared.

“How does that work, I wonder?” Maruki said, poking at a tear in Akechi’s suit. “I mean, snacks are love, but I didn’t expect them to literally heal your wounds.”

“It’s just a Metaverse thing. Don’t overthink it.”

“Mm. That’s like asking the tide not to come in,” said Maruki.

After cramming down more junk food, Akechi stood up and prodded around his sore spots to see if any were still bleeding, but he seemed more or less shipshape again.

“There’s a bed and bath through there, if you want to clean up or take a nap,” said Maruki, pointing to another door.

Akechi took a look through the door. Like the lab, the rooms inside were spacious, clean and bright, and fully stocked with anything a human could want. There was a comfortable-looking white bed. A gleaming bathtub. A cabinet with fresh towels, robes, and soap. A white noise machine playing nature sounds. There was even a W.C.

Taking this all in, Akechi said, “Okay, I have to know. Why do you have a toilet?”

Maruki blinked at him. “I don’t think I understand the question.”

“Do you ever use it?”

“Now that you mention it, no. You don’t need a toilet here.” Maruki laughed. “I guess I just expected to find one, so there it was. This place is so fascinating.”

“How much time are you spending in the Metaverse, anyway? You’ve been here every time I came to see you. And this lab…it looks just like your palace. But it isn’t, is it? It doesn’t look like this from the outside.”

Maruki shrugged, but was unable to answer because he was loudly crunching another snack.

“Hmm. Well, it’s nothing to me. As long as you aren’t doing that brainwashing crap again, I don’t need to kick your ass again.”

Akechi turned to leave, shaking his head.

“Wait - take a few for the road,” said Maruki, bundling up more snacks neatly in a wrapping cloth. “And if you ever need a rest, feel free to come back.”

“They just caught me off-guard. It won’t happen again,” said Akechi, but he accepted the package anyway.

_That’s a bit of progress_ , thought Maruki, making some notes in his notebook.


	4. Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi gets a job at Shinjuku's favorite drag bar and treats Sae to a "homemade" meal; Maruki's research continues.

School was starting out as well as Akechi could reasonably expect, even if he felt cramped compared to the previous year. A part of Shido’s employment that he enjoyed was being able to cut class whenever he pleased. Sometimes he did it just because it made him feel important, knowing that he had better places to be than all the other high-schoolers. He had to get used to being back in the education factory with everyone else.

Being Suzui-san’s official book-carrier should have made him feel even more trapped, but to his surprise, he found that he liked the feeling of being relied on. Eventually she wouldn’t need his help, but for now he could look forward to seeing her between classes.

At first, she gave the impression of being a pretty basic girl: kind but superficial. But then one day she got talking about sports and it was like another Suzui had possessed her. Akechi, knowing nothing about team sports, listened politely but bemusedly through about half the lunch period.

Finally, Suzui stopped talking and clapped her hands over her mouth.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe I went on like that!”

“Seems like it had been building up for a while,” said Akechi, amused.

“Yeah, you’re right. I used to talk about this stuff with my teammates, but….”

“Teammates?”

“I used to play volleyball,” said Suzui quietly. Then, waving her hands, she said, “Never mind. Forget I said that. Um, are you interested in any sports, Akechi-san?”

“I like biking and bouldering. Can’t say I’ve ever been into team sports. I don’t like the feeling of tying my own performance to a bunch of other people.”

“That’s the _best_ part,” said Suzui happily. “When you get to the point where you work together like a single mind, and you realize how much more you can accomplish than you could on your own. It’s such an exhilarating feeling. There’s nothing like it.”

“What if they drag you down, though? Doesn’t it make you angry?”

“Honestly?” she asked. “Yeah, it used to. I’ve always been good at volleyball and it was frustrating when I was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the team. Like, I’m carrying all you people and you’re _mad_ at me for it?”

Akechi laughed. It was endearing to see Suzui, the quintessential nice girl, admit that even she got fed up with deadweight from time to time.

Suzui blushed. “Oh, please don’t think worse of me for saying something like that, Akechi-san,” she said quickly.

Ah, she let her guard down and now she was afraid he would judge her for it. He knew what that felt like. He smiled to put her at ease. “I didn’t realize you were so competitive, Suzui-san. I don’t mind it. A little salt just makes the dish better, right?”

“That’s one way to put it,” she replied, laughing in relief. “Thanks for understanding.”

The lunch bell rang; time to go.

“Tell me about bouldering sometime,” said Suzui. “I’m getting kind of restless just sitting around, y’know?”

As it happened, Akechi was also feeling restless. He’d settled into the school routine and immediately gotten bored with it. Moreover, the first of the month was coming up and rent was due; Sae-san hadn’t talked about it, but she did seem edgier. It was time to look for a job.

On the way home, he picked up a job pamphlet and flipped through it. He had promised to contribute to the household income, after all. Rafflesia...head-turning charm required. Ha. That sounded easy enough. He headed down to the underground mall in Shibuya to window-shop a bit. Some accessories caught his eye, but he didn’t have the money to spend on fancy clothes anymore. That was probably the best part about working for Shido; he was bankrolled to buy whatever he wanted to keep up the Detective Prince identity.

He felt a shiver up his spine and shook his head. _I didn’t work for that man_ , he thought firmly. _I worked against him the whole time. I took his money and betrayed him._ But the thought wouldn’t stick. Instead, his idiot brain remembered how flattered he’d been when Shido complimented him. The pride he felt knowing he was a key part of Shido’s plans…. Suddenly, he felt like he’d stuck his hand into a toilet. Dirty.

Pushing away these thoughts, Akechi called the number in the job pamphlet. Unfortunately, it seemed Rafflesia had another part-timer already lined up. He managed to get an interview at a few other places, but the proprietors recognized him as the disgraced detective. Only one was forward enough to say so, but he could tell. He’d destroyed his reputation and he could barely even remember why. Something about revenge, but the details were fuzzy.

Eventually, he made his way over to the Shinjuku neighborhood. It had been a long time since he lived there, but he still remembered his way around. Better yet, he knew there were more opportunities for someone with a sketchy past here than in other parts of the city.

From down some alley, he heard a deep, robust voice shouting. As he moved closer, he could make out “AND THE TRUCK YOU RODE IN ON!” Peeking around a corner, he saw a large woman dressed in a brightly colored spring outfit, hands on hips. A bow barrette perched at a jaunty angle on her head. She was looking around the alley in disapproval.

“Hey, you,” she said, looking up at Akechi. Her voice was surprisingly deep and scratchy. A drag queen, then?

“Me?”

“Yeah. How’d you like to make a quick 2000 yen?”

In a Shinjuku alley behind a drag bar. Akechi’s mind went directly into the gutter; it must have shown on his face.

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” the woman sighed. “I just want you to carry these boxes in for me.”

_Oh_. Well, Akechi still needed money and a job was a job. He went over to survey the scene.

“I’m Lala Escargot, the proprietress of this establishment. You can just call me Lala-san if you want. Start with these, they need to go in the cooler.”

Akechi took off his school blazer and started hauling the boxes inside. Lala directed him while puffing on a cigarette and complaining about the idiot who had left all the boxes outside instead of bringing them in like he was supposed to.

“Does that happen often?” asked Akechi, stocking the cooler.

“Only when they don’t send my regular guy. I give him a little gratuity to stock the shelves for me. I’m lucky you wandered by today. What’s a kid like you even doing in this part of town, anyway?”

“Looking for a job, as it happens. You aren’t hiring, are you?”

“Don’t tease, honey,” said Lala dismissively. “I wouldn’t mind some part-time help, but I don’t trust prep-school types. Too clean. You know, you could break those boxes down and toss ‘em out back too.”

Akechi did that, then surveyed the back of the bar. Everything was stocked neatly, but there was some debris left on the floor. He found a broom and swept out the area while Lala disappeared somewhere into the back.

When Lala returned, she had transformed - she had a purple wig, a full kimono, and a lot more makeup. Akechi finished sweeping and asked if there was anything else he could do.

“No, no, that’s plenty for one afternoon. You earned your pay. Sit over there, I’ll pour you a nice cold one for the road.”

Akechi washed his hands and went around the bar to sit on the customer side. Lala mixed him a drink filled to the brim with ice and placed it on the counter next to his money. He pocketed the money and took a sip of the drink. It was delicious; he hadn’t even realized how thirsty he was. “This is refreshing. What’s in it?”

“Half-and-half lemonade and iced tea. A nice cool drink for sweaty work.”

Lala kicked the back door closed and the sunlight seeped out of the bar, leaving it lit for the evening in neon. Akechi looked around; gaudy, but clean. He’d certainly been to divier bars.

“It’s funny you should say I’m too ‘clean’ to work here when all day long, other places have been telling me the opposite.”

“Do you really need the money that bad?” Lala asked.

“I have to pay my lawyer,” said Akechi truthfully. Lala’s penciled eyebrows rose a bit. She took a closer look at his face.

“Hmm...ever worked in hospitality or food service before?”

Akechi shook his head. “Actually, my last job was as a detective.”

“A criminal cop, eh? Well, you’ve got a cute face, decent work ethic, and you’re good for a laugh. I think my regulars’d get a kick out of you. Tell you what, come in on Thursday evening and I’ll show you the ropes.”

* * *

Sae was working in her bedroom when Akechi got home. Whistling, he arranged the things he’d bought and started preparing dinner. After he’d finished serving, Sae still wasn’t out of her room, so he went and knocked.

“Dinner,” he called.

She emerged, looking guilty. “Oh no, I totally lost track of the time. I’m so sorry, I’ll make something right now. You must be hungry.”

“I sure am,” he said, teasing her a little. “Come on, sit down.”

They sat down at the dinner table and Sae looked everything over. There was miso soup, pork dumplings and oyakodon, all plated nicely, as if he had actually made them from scratch.

“I hardly know what to say. Thank you for handling dinner; it’s a relief.”

“You’re welcome,” he said with a smile. There was something nostalgic about this meal. When he’d lived with his mother, they mostly ate convenience food: just add water. When she wanted to feel fancy, she would get rid of the styrofoam bowls and put the instant noodles on real tableware.

“How was your day?” asked Sae, popping a dumpling in her mouth.

“Things are going well with Suzui-san. And I found a part-time job. It’s only weekend evenings, so it shouldn’t interfere with my school work.”

“I’m impressed. Do you have time to juggle all that, though? Ease off if it gets to be too much.”

“I can handle it. How’s it going with my defense?”

“Not bad. I’m thinking through a couple of possible angles. The time will come when we’ll need to have a serious talk about which way you want to go, though.”

“What do you mean by angles?”

“Well, first off, I’ve heard that Shido plans to recant parts of his confession.”

Goro made a face. “Sounds like something he would do. Then my testimony may be important.”

“Maybe. The strange thing is _which_ parts he’s retracting. He’s denying involvement of a number of people he’d previously named as associates or accomplices - including you.”

“That doesn’t sound good, actually,” said Goro slowly, thinking through the possible implications.

“I agree and I’m making inquiries. For now, that’s all I know. Anyway, making the case of murder by Metaverse isn’t exactly a slam-dunk. If you want, we could say that was some flight of fancy and there is no such thing. Then you’d have a shot at avoiding jail time completely. You could be acquitted.”

“Are you serious?” said Akechi. “Acquitted? Then I wouldn’t have to pay...but I assume that would damage the case against Shido, as there would be nothing tying my actions to him.”

“Regardless of this new development, his confession is still more than enough to put him away for life. He’s going to prison with or without your help. There’s no reason you need to go down with him. Think about it this way: you could move on with your life.”

“I see. But if I denied the existence of the Metaverse...then what happened to the psychotic breakdown victims would remain unexplained forever.”

“Probably. That isn’t my concern, though. If you want to go forward with a full denial, I believe I can make that case. You’re my client; it’s up to you.”

“It’s hard to believe you can be so cold-blooded about this, Sae-san,” said Akechi doubtfully.

“It’s my job. I wouldn’t be doing it properly if I didn’t consider every possible defense. The important part is that _you_ will have to live with the choice you make.”

Akechi thought about that as he ate. Unchained from the past. Even as a child, he’d never dared to hope that he’d ever be free of the circumstances of his birth and the events that had shackled his choices up till now. 

Sae-san was offering him a chance to move on, to carve his own path rather than follow the tracks dictated by others or even the ones created by his own mistakes. He couldn’t quite believe it - not yet - it was too foreign a feeling. Still, the possibility was tantalizing. He would have to think it over carefully.

* * *

“I can’t believe he’s even considering that bullshit. What a douche,” said the black-suited Akechi sullenly, scowling at the bank of monitors in Dr. Maruki’s lab.

“You said it had nothing to do with you,” Maruki pointed out. “You said he could have that life if he wanted.”

“It pisses me off to know that moron is walking around with my face and my name,” said Akechi.

“He _is you_ ,” said Maruki. He did not add that he’d begun thinking of this Akechi as the hard candy shell to the other one’s chewy center.

Akechi paced around. “He’s weak. Naive. Pathetic. I’m none of those things.”

Maruki followed Akechi’s gaze to the monitor where he was tracking Amamiya-kun. He wasn’t sure exactly what the black mask represented in terms of Akechi’s psyche, but this part of him, no matter how much it protested otherwise, still longed for Amamiya. That hadn’t changed. It might even be the only thing the two Akechis had in common.

“‘Weak’ and ‘pathetic’...those are strong words. Why do you say that?”

“He’s indulging in a juvenile fantasy.”

“I disagree. The fantasy is that one can live one’s life alone. It takes courage to rely on others,” said Maruki.

“What cereal box did you steal that insight from?” said Akechi acidly.

“Think about it. You know your own limits, so you can set your own comfort level. If you put your trust in others, you risk being disappointed. Betrayed, even. The loss of control is scary for some people.”

“Are we still talking about me, or is this about you now?”

“Don’t deflect. It’s just a general observation. I’m interested in the human condition.”

“I can see why. Humanity’s done so much for you.” Akechi’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Now who’s being juvenile?” Maruki popped open a box of Pocky and set one in his mouth, rolling it from side to side like a cigar.

“Whatever.” Akechi banged on the gleaming walls, more annoyed because he didn’t have a good comeback. Then a thought occurred to him. He turned back toward Maruki and smirked wickedly. “What would happen if I went out there and killed that other me?”

“If such a thing is even possible, I assume you’d die too,” said Maruki, watching to gauge his reaction.

“Dammit. What am I supposed to do?” Akechi slammed into the wall again and then kicked it for good measure.

“I don’t know what happened to make you dissociate like this,” Maruki mused. “But you can’t use a Persona right now and that means you can’t move freely around the Metaverse. You’re effectively unarmed, isn’t that right?”

“Yep. Unarmed and stuck in this hell with you. Do you have any idea how to proceed?”

“As the nation’s preeminent expert on the Metaverse as a psychosomatic phenomenon...I think you’ll have to reintegrate with that other you.” Maruki paused and grinned widely. “He literally completes you.”

Akechi closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.

“Fine. When I’m done vomiting, how can I accomplish this task?”

“We’re in the Metaverse, the world of the subconscious. Try contacting him when he’s asleep. The distance between you should be shortest then.”

Akechi nodded. Without another word, he turned and headed towards the open air duct that would take him outside, leaving Maruki alone in his cell.

“Let me know what happens!” called Maruki.


	5. Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thief of Hearts returns to Tokyo.

Ren Amamiya stared out the train window, gazing through his reflection into the pastoral countryside that he was leaving behind. One thing he’d grown to appreciate about long train rides was the time to think.

His parents had been highly unimpressed that he’d gotten into more trouble while on probation. He supposed he was lucky that they took him back at all. They’d fought about it, he knew. So he didn’t tell them about Akechi or the recurrence of the psychotic breakdown incidents. Luckily there was a short school holiday coming up, so all he had to say was he wanted to go visit his old friends in Tokyo for a few days. How much trouble could he get into over a long weekend, after all?

He’d spent a year in Tokyo on probation for a crime he didn’t commit, in a strange place with strange people, viewed with suspicion by everyone he met. It should have felt like a prison. Yet, even though he’d gone back home after serving his time, there was a part of the city that never left him. The friendships he’d forged there were the best, most intense connections in his life. Maybe that was why it felt like he was struck by lightning when he got Makoto’s text letting him know Akechi was still alive. He touched the glove Akechi had thrown at him, still in his pocket - a challenge, yes, but also a promise to meet again.

What did it mean that he dropped his new friends like hot rocks the second he had an excuse to go back to Tokyo? Why was he so drawn to darkness and grime and violence? It didn’t mean he wasn’t still a good person, did it?

On the seat beside him, Morgana was watching him carefully. Seeing his expression darken, the cat gave his hand a friendly lick. Ren ruffled his ears and smiled reassuringly.

* * *

Makoto greeted Ren at the train station with a motorcycle helmet.

“You got your license!” he said, catching her toss.

“Did you have doubts?” She tried to sound insulted, but it was difficult when she was grinning so widely.

Makoto led him over to her motorcycle - not an extravagant model, but it would do the job - and he hopped on the back, holding her around the waist.

“Ready?”

“Hit it.”

They zipped out into the Tokyo traffic and Ren gripped her tighter. He hadn’t been sure what to expect, whether they’d have a chance to talk like in a car or not. The answer was not, as there was nothing to hear but the wind in his face and the sounds of traffic. Makoto was more daring than he expected on her bike. Naturally she followed all the laws, but she wove in and out of the car lanes as if they were standing still.

Eventually, they ended up in the Shibuya diner that Ren frequented. It was a good place to talk, plus they always had some strange new dish to try. Today was something called “Five Senses Soup” that promised to deliver a sensation to all five senses at once. So far, he was happy with smell and touch, but taste was losing out to hearing and he had no idea what was supposed to dazzle his eyes.

After a short time catching up, Makoto got down to business: the resumption of the psychotic breakdown cases.

“But you said it couldn’t be Akechi?” asked Ren, around bites of soup.

“Well...I’ve been thinking about that. It’s true that the most recent cases appeared while he was in state custody, either in the hospital or in jail. Then I got to thinking, what if he had done it before he disappeared last November? Maybe they were only _discovered_ recently.”

“Hmm, maybe. Why worry about it, though? Can’t the police handle things?”

Makoto looked unhappy. “The media have stopped even referring to them as psychotic breakdowns. Same with the police. They’re denying the whole thing. They’re just sending these people away to mental hospitals and washing their hands of it.”

“Then how do you know they really are psychotic breakdowns?”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t have any proof. There’s just something about the way the media and the police closed ranks that I find suspicious _._ I was supposed to have an internship over the summer, but they canceled it.”

Ren sipped his soup, trying to figure out how to diplomatically suggest that her internship might have nothing to do with anything. He wondered idly when he was going to see the “sight” sensation promised on the menu.

“GAH!”

“What?” asked Makoto, alarmed.

Ren tipped the bowl toward her. On the bottom was a mirror, so that when you finished the soup, you’d see your own face looking back at you. There was a cheery “Thanks for eating with us!” written on it, but the overall effect was unsettling. Like maybe he was eating his own face? Or he had sunk into some kind of pond?

“As gimmicks go, not one of their finest,” said Makoto, shaking her head. “Anyway, I know what you’re thinking. But it’s not just me - all police internships are canceled across Tokyo. 

“You want to get the band back together and investigate.”

“Maybe just the front man and the lead guitar?” She smiled hopefully.

Morgana poked his head out of Ren’s bag. “Lead guitar, huh? I guess that makes Yusuke the bass...Ann backup vocals...and Ryuji….”

“Drummer,” Makoto and Ren said together, laughing.

Ren rubbed his head. Well, if he could stake out a host club, he could probably handle whatever she had in mind now. He had barely even nodded when Makoto pulled a notebook out of her bag and started flipping through it. Inside were carefully arranged photos, notes, and newspaper clippings.

“You made a murder scrapbook?” he said.

“It’s not a scrapbook!” she protested, moving her hand slightly to cover a puffy sticker. “Just come and hit the pavement with me one day. If nothing comes of it, then...I’ll try to forget it.”

Morgana laughed. “Nyaahaha, ‘hit the pavement’. You sound like a detective already.”

Makoto primly stowed her murder scrapbook away and they headed out.

* * *

The following morning, Makoto picked up Ren and Morgana at Leblanc. Since it was a holiday, the streets were full of kids and teens kicking around doing nothing in particular. But Makoto had never been a “nothing to do” kind of person and she was ready with a plan. They headed out to Shinjuku on her motorcycle.

Ren took a look around, squinting in the daylight. He had spent a lot of time here, but not during the day. It was like a different neighborhood; the shops open at night were all closed during the day, and vice versa.

“What are we looking for?” he asked Makoto.

“Witnesses. Maybe crime scenes,” she said, trying not to sound excited and failing. “I have some addresses here….”

“What? How did you get those?” Morgana demanded.

“Through my connections,” she said mysteriously, raising her eyebrows.

They walked around the neighborhood, poking around, asking questions. They found that all the victims had a few things in common: they had very little by way of friends or family and often were in debt. Some were transients or sex workers. The thing Makoto and Ren heard most often was surprise. Now that the media had stopped reporting on the story, the neighbors didn’t expect that anyone would come looking for these people. The police certainly weren’t.

As afternoon squatted humidly over the district, Ren thought of Crossroads. It was close; maybe they could stop in, say hello, get a couple of cold drinks.

Makoto looked at the pink neon sign doubtfully, but Ren assured her it was fine.

“I used to work here,” he explained, as they went in.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dimness of the bar’s interior, compared to the sunlight outside. He heard the sound of a glass breaking and blinked to clear his vision. There was someone behind the bar, wearing the familiar apron and restocking clean glasses. It was Akechi. Ren knew how he was feeling: like he’d seen a ghost.

“Ah, sorry, Lala-san,” said Akechi, ducking to the floor to clean up the glass he’d dropped.

Lala was looking from Ren to Akechi with a shrewd look. “You know what, I’ve got the bar. Why don’t you take a break? Go talk to your friends.”

“Um, thanks,” Akechi mumbled.

“Don’t thank me. I’m doing it for the glassware,” said Lala, shaking her head. “You’re supposed to have some breaks anyway. Shoo, shoo.”

Slipping off the apron, Akechi led them over to the back booth, where they all sat down.

“So you’re alive. Looks like the bullet-to-the-head didn’t take,” said Akechi, arching an eyebrow at Makoto, who just shrugged.

“Uh, ditto,” said Ren. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, after what happened in February.”

Akechi shook his head. “Was I...with you? But that’s impossible. I was in the hospital. There are records that prove it.”

“A lot of impossible things happened that semester,” said Makoto with a sigh. “What’s the last thing you remember before the hospital?”

“It was...must have been fall? I remember that I was hanging around with you guys a lot at that time. Did we go to the Diet Building?”

Ren nodded. “We did. Do you remember Futaba messing with your phone?”

“Futaba...yes, I remember that. Then things get fuzzy.”

Just then, Lala came over with a tray of sodas. “Don’t mind me, kids, just keep right on chatting like I’m not even here,” she said, making a big production out of setting down cocktail napkins, drinks, straws, garnishes, and finally even a bowl of peanuts.

Morgana poked his head out of Ren’s bag and said, “How about me? Do you remember the greatest Phantom Thief of them all?”

“Right, you always had this cat in your bag,” said Akechi. “How eccentric.”

“Hey! Speak for yourself! I’m the avatar of humanity’s hope, I’ll have you know,” said Morgana.

“I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see that,” said Lala, drifting back off towards the bar. “Like all the other times….”

“Talkative, isn’t he?” said Akechi, reaching out to scratch Morgana’s ears. “It’s remarkable how he just stays in there all the time. He’s the most obedient cat I’ve ever seen.”

Morgana narrowed his eyes and nipped at Akechi’s hand disapprovingly.

“Did I offend him?” said Akechi, surprised.

“ _Obedient_ isn’t how I’d describe Morgana,” said Ren, grinning. “He just likes hanging out with me.”

“Fair enough.” Akechi smiled too, relaxing a little. If Amamiya was okay, then maybe…. “What have you two been up to?”

Ren said, “Well, if you’re not caught up since November...you probably know Masayoshi Shido had a change of heart.”

Akechi nodded. “He’s confessed to a great number of crimes, apparently. Though strangely, he has avoided implicating me in them.”

“He probably feels guilty about how he used you,” said Makoto, thinking back to how remorseful the others had been after their changes of heart.

“I’d be astonished if that man has a single ounce of compassion in his body,” said Akechi bitterly. “I don’t care what he’s up to. All I know is that Sae-san has some room to maneuver.”

“Sae-san…?” said Ren.

“Didn’t you tell him?” said Akechi to Makoto.

“Not my story to tell,” she said, shaking her head and taking a sip of her soda.

“Sae-san quit her job at the prosecutor’s office and is now representing me.”

“Wow,” said Ren, surprised. “Last I heard, she was going to wrap up the Shido case first...she must see something in you, huh?”

“So it would seem,” said Akechi evenly, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“Good thing I moved out so you can have my former bedroom,” Makoto couldn’t help adding.

Akechi laughed lightly and said, “With all your trophies and books. It’s a lot to live up to.”

There was a bit of awkwardness between them, and Ren wanted to move the conversation along anyway, so he said, “How can I explain January…?”

“I don’t think we should even get into that right now,” said Makoto wearily. “Just skip ahead to March.”

Ren nodded crisply. “Sure. I went to jail.”

_“You went to jail?”_

“Had to. I told Niijima-san everything I knew about the Metaverse. It was how she was planning to tie Shido to the Metaverse crimes. What with his gunman being dead and all.”

“That’s why…” said Akechi thoughtfully. “I understand now. Then my confession really isn’t needed.”

Ren looked at him appraisingly. “You told us that you wanted to tie yourself to Shido. Make him recognize you and your mother and then drag him down with you. That was your revenge. Don’t you still want that?”

“I told you all that, huh?” Akechi looked unhappily down at his glass.

“It’s too late to be embarrassed. We all know the whole story,” said Ren, not unkindly. “What I want to know is, are you still bent on revenge?”

Akechi sighed. “There hardly seems to be much point to it now. Maybe I don’t want to let that bastard ruin my life again.”

“I hope that’s true. I really do,” said Ren sincerely. He looked at Makoto, then back at Akechi. “And I guess that brings us to why we’re here. Show him the scrapbook.”

Makoto took out the murder book and opened it up. “We think these are psychotic breakdown incidents. Do you know any of these people?”

Akechi leafed through the book. “I don’t know. They don’t look familiar. Why?”

“We were wondering if any of them were among Shido’s targets last year. What do you remember about them?”

Akechi frowned, frustrated. “I don’t remember...whatever it was I did to them. I know it doesn’t make any sense. I’ve racked my brain, but it’s like something is just missing. Time I can’t account for. I remember getting an order and then confirming it was done, but in between...nothing.”

“It must be the Metaverse,” said Morgana. “That would explain why he can’t understand me, too. His knowledge of the Metaverse is gone.”

“Did you do any...uh, freelancing?” said Ren.

“No, I did not,” said Akechi, scowling at him.

The bar door opened and someone new shuffled tiredly in.

“Lala-chan, I need something stronger than usual tonight,” said Ohya, making her way down to her usual seat at the bar.

“I’ve got some cheap bourbon for the hard-boiled girl reporter,” said Lala.

“Make it a double,” said Ohya. As Lala poured the drink, Ohya peered around the room. “What’s this? The new hotness and the old hotness, _together_?”

“Don’t be -” Lala started, but Ohya waved her off. Picking up her drink, she headed over to the back booth.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Amamiya-kun!” said Ohya cheerfully. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes! And you’re a cool drink of water as ever, Akechi-kun. Who’s the lucky lady getting attention from both of you?”

That struck Makoto as hilarious, but she didn’t want to imply anything, so she just pressed her lips together in a clueless-looking smile.

“This is Makoto Niijima, Ohya-san,” said Ren.

“No relation to the prosecutor who stepped down recently?” said Ohya, practically licking her lips at the thought of a new source.

Makoto said, “She’s my sister,” and that did it. Ohya scooted Ren over and joined them at the booth.

“They’re looking into some new psychotic shutdown cases,” said Goro. “Aren’t you working on some kind of story right now too?”

“I sure am. A serial killer,” she said with relish. “The cops are as useless as ever, but me, I’ve got an angle on this one.” She slugged down her double shot and continued, “See, this killer’s M.O. is the same as one who worked this area ten years ago. Cops called him the Garbageman back then. He was never caught.”

“Okay, that is more than enough of that,” said Lala, appearing as suddenly as a kimono’d storm cloud. “Ichiko-chan, quit scaring the kids with these ghost stories. Akechi-kun, it’s almost the end of the night. Cleanup time.”

She clapped her hands to emphasize her point, and Akechi hopped up and headed back to the bar to get his apron. Lala gave Ohya a death stare, then turned on her heel and marched back to the bar.

“Whoa,” said Ren. “It’s like you got sent to the principal’s office.”

“Ugh, you’re so young,” Ohya sighed. “I keep forgetting, and then you say something like that. Anyway, it’s good to see you back here. Come back and chat sometime, okay? You too, Niijima-san!”

Makoto and Ren headed back out into the night, checking the time. The last train was still a ways off, but the streets were quieter than usual, giving the area an eerie feeling. Makoto shivered; Ren held out his arm and Makoto took it gratefully.

“So what did you two think?” she asked. “About Akechi, I mean.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think we can rule him out entirely,” said Morgana. “He’s too slick. Who knows what kind of angle he might be working.”

Ren shrugged. “I think he was telling the truth. He’s always said he only killed the people Shido told him to. That story has never changed.”

“Except for the part where he conveniently can’t remember _how_ he killed them,” Morgana pointed out.

“The whole thing is weird,” said Makoto. “He’s so different than he was in January. I thought we were finally seeing his true self, and now we’re back to this.”

“Robin Hood was always part of his heart, you know,” said Ren. “You can’t fake that.”

“I suppose he didn’t have anything to lose in January,” said Makoto thoughtfully. “Now he’s back in school and he has a credible shot at ducking the charges against him. He has a future to look forward to. That could change a person.”

“I guess so, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is off about him. I used to be able to tell….” Ren trailed off.

“Tell what?” asked Makoto.

Ren had the sinking feeling that he’d said too much. “Which Persona to use around which people,” he explained reluctantly.

Makoto’s eyebrows rose. “Really, you can always tell? For everyone?”

Ren sighed apologetically. “Yeah, everyone. You know how I could switch Personas in a palace? I could do that outside, too.”

“You’d switch to a Persona close to mine when we hung out,” said Makoto, a tinge of accusation in her voice.

“Hey, Ren was right before - a Persona is part of your soul. It’s not some kind of costume,” said Morgana.

“It’s the same kind of thing people do all the time, y’know?” said Ren. “You’re different around your sister than you are around me, aren’t you?”

“True...I guess that makes sense,” said Makoto. “What kind of Personas did you use around me?”

“Isis, Kikuri-Hime, Scathach...powerful, intelligent women who could roast a guy with a harsh look,” he added with a grin.

“Hmm,” said Makoto, mollified. “Sounds like me. And Akechi?”

“Angels, if you can believe that. Melchizedek, Dominion, Uriel.”

Makoto considered that for a moment, but gave up. “I don’t get that at all,” she admitted. “Angels?”

“Don’t ask me. That’s not the weird part, though. I can’t sense _any_ kind of Persona in him anymore.” Ren frowned, troubled. “It’s like...he doesn’t know who he is anymore.”

* * *

Back at Crossroads, Goro tried to wash the dishes and listen over his shoulder at the same time. Lala-san seemed to be reading Ohya the riot act, but she was keeping her voice low and he couldn’t make out what it was about.

When she was done, Lala poured two drinks, one for herself and one for Ohya, and they drank in silence. Then Ohya hit the road and Lala brought the glasses over to the sink.

“Everything okay?” said Goro innocently.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” said Lala. “You looked like your soul left your body when Amamiya-kun came in here.”

“I...we were rivals last year, before he went back to his hometown. I didn’t think I’d be seeing him again.”

“No kidding. I had no idea. He didn’t talk much about himself when he was in here. He always that quiet?”

“Quiet, are you kidding? He’s a total showoff. Always has to be the best in the room, whether it’s darts or grades or...anything at all, really. I can’t believe he didn’t talk about his fan club,” Akechi added, rolling his eyes.

“Didn’t _you_ have a fan club last year?” said Lala dryly.

“Yes, but I’m not talking about a bunch of girls fawning over him online. His friends are different. They really love him. You know him, Lala-san?”

“Sure. He worked here too for a little while.”

Goro couldn’t help scowling at that. _Dammit, Amamiya. Of all the drag joints in all the neighborhoods in Tokyo, you had to come into mine._

“I bet he wasn’t half as good as I am, though,” he said.

“Oh, he was. A little clueless, but a champion listener. You’re far more reliable. If only I could merge the two of you, I’d have a perfect employee,” Lala sighed.

“Whatever he was so good at, I’m sure I could do it too,” Goro prodded, feeling his competitiveness flare.

Lala smirked, and Goro suddenly had the impression he’d fallen into some kind of trap. “Well, if you _really_ want to know...what Amamiya-kun was best at was kindness.”

“Kindness?” said Goro blankly. “That’s not very concrete.”

“He made our guests feel welcome. You do that by listening, first and foremost. By tuning in to body language. By showing up enough that you get to know people’s preferences. Amamiya has a knack for that stuff.”

“Come on,” said Goro, irritated. “That’s nothing special. Any idiot can show up and listen.”

“Any idiot _can_ do it, but not every idiot _will_ do it. What people really want is to know they have a friendly ear waiting when they need it. That’s the hospitality business. Hell, honey, that’s _life_.”

As he walked alone to the train station and all during the ride home, Goro chewed over what Lala had said. _Amamiya has a knack for that stuff_. He was perceptive, true. Always seemed to know when to talk and when to shut up. And he was smart enough to keep up without Goro having to dumb things down for him. _He made me feel comfortable...welcome._ _Isn’t that right? Isn’t that exactly why I liked spending time with him?_

By contrast, Goro himself spent his time making himself palatable - choosing his look, practicing his manners, and studying all kinds of things so he’d be interesting to talk to. He polished himself till he sparkled and yet he’d never managed to form more than a superficial bond until he met Ren. Why?

The question bothered him all the way home.

* * *

Flopped down on his familiar, dusty old milk-crate bed in Le Blanc’s attic, Ren gazed out the window at the moon. Morgana curled up beside him, already asleep. Being here, with the familiar sounds and smells of Le Blanc...Ren felt more at home than he did in his parents’ house. He found himself wishing - longing, even - that he could stay here instead of going back there.

Even though he’d known Akechi was out there somewhere, seeing him was a shock. Ren loved his friends with all his heart, but Akechi was complex...intense... _exciting_...in a way none of the rest of them were. Each of his friends brought out a particular quality in Ren - from Ryuji, loyalty; from Morgana, optimism; from Ann, compassion. But Akechi didn’t just bring out a single quality; he hit Ren like sunlight through a prism, refracting all sorts of things Ren didn’t even know were there.

After grieving Akechi’s death briefly in November, Ren was forced to confront it again in February. It was worse the second time, because on that chilly night when they promised to destroy Maruki’s reality and consign Akechi to death again, both their hearts had changed. Akechi’s Persona had awakened to a new power, a blend of his heroic and villainous sides, which Ren supposed meant he had finally accepted both as part of himself.

Similarly, Ren realized that he wanted to be with Akechi (who he still thought of that way; they’d never agreed to use each other’s first names), whatever that might mean. He wanted to see what other colors Akechi might shine through the prism of his heart and what he might bring out in Akechi as well. His feelings of rivalry and friendship had coalesced into something new.

He hadn’t said anything to Akechi in November or February. November because he wasn’t sure of his feelings; February because he _was_ sure and he didn’t want to make their task any more difficult than he had to. Now, at the beginning of May, he resolved himself not to wait.

* * *

The next morning, Sae’s entrance at the breakfast table was preceded by an almost-continuous stream of little buzzes and beeps.

“Sounds like some kind of intense chatroom,” said Goro, raising his eyebrows.

“It’s Amamiya-kun,” she said. “He wanted you, actually, but I had to break the news that your phone is in an evidence locker in a police station basement somewhere.”

“He should’ve seen that coming, honestly. What does he want?”

“He wants to meet you in Shinjuku for...um…” she squinted at the phone. “A tarot reading? I suppose he means the fortune-telling cards.”

“Sure, why not?” Goro chuckled. “Fits right in with all that time he made me spend in the confessional.”

“In church?” Sae looked lost. “Um, never mind. I suppose I don’t need to know. Anyway, if you’re hanging out with him tonight, I’ll expect you late.”

Ren and Goro met as arranged in the red light district as evening was starting to get underway. The neighborhood had its own rhythms; nightlife didn’t really start until it was dark, but tourist amusements such as fortune telling started and ended a bit earlier.

“What were you up to today?” Goro asked. “More detective work with Niijima-san?”

Ren replied, “We’ve kind of hit a dead end. None of the new psychotic breakdown cases seem to have anything in common.”

“I’ve been keeping up with the news. They haven’t mentioned any new cases either.”

“Makoto thinks someone behind the scenes is hushing things up. Do you think Shido could be running things from prison?”

“Maybe...but I doubt it. All the changes of heart were quite genuine, if I recall correctly. Anyway, Shido had a lot of powerful associates. Taking him out is like knocking the top off a pyramid. The base is still there, strong as ever.”

Ren made a face. “That’s not very encouraging.”

“It’s the truth. Did you really think you were going to solve all of society’s problems by removing just one man?”

Ren sighed unhappily. Goro laughed. “You did, didn’t you? Aww.”

“Oh, shut up,” Ren grumbled, making Goro laugh harder.

They meandered over to an alleyway where a blonde woman had set up a small table. This must be the fortune teller.

“Goro Akechi, this is Chihaya Mifune,” Ren introduced them. “Chihaya, this is the friend I was telling you about.”

“So nice to meet you,” she said cheerfully. “Any friend of Ren-kun’s is a friend of mine. What kind of reading did you want?”

“I don’t know,” said Goro, looking at Ren. “What kind of reading do I want?”

“Do you have one to recover lost memories?”

Chihaya raised her eyebrows. “Ummm….”

Rolling his eyes at Ren, Goro said, “I have a question before we start. How much did he tell you about me? Actually, no - let me be more precise. How much do you know about me?”

“Ah, a skeptic,” said Chihaya, eyes sparkling. “Why don’t I give you a quick three card reading to start out with?”

She shuffled the deck and had Goro cut them. Then she picked them up and rested a finger lightly on the top.

“What do I know about you? I’ve seen you on TV,” she said. “You were all over the talk shows last year. You’re a high school student as well as some kind of investigator.”

She flipped over the top card: the Moon.

“Hmm...but not anymore,” she said. “Being a detective didn’t resonate with your true self. You’re done with it now.”

“Easy enough to guess, given that I haven’t been on TV in quite some time,” said Goro. “Do you have anything more specific?”

A little concentration line formed between her eyes as Chihaya focused on the cards, which was interesting, thought Goro. Most cold readers focused on the person they were reading, since that was where their insights lay. But she wasn’t looking at him at all.

“No, it’s not just that the part didn’t resonate... it’s deeper than that...the whole thing was a ruse,” she said, looking startled. “Just a character you played. Are you an actor of some sort?”

Goro shook his head in amusement, but she wasn’t entirely wrong.

She flipped the next card over: the Tower.

“You were struck by catastrophe,” she said. “The ruination of all you were hoping to accomplish.”

“Right on the money. But again, an easy deduction given my sudden disappearance.”

“The Tower stands on shaky ground. That’s why it’s so easily felled by a single lightning bolt. I’m afraid your plans were flawed from the beginning and disaster was inevitable,” said Chihaya. “However, the card is reversed. Although you didn’t get what you wanted, all is not lost. You have an opportunity to build something better on a stronger foundation.”

“Wonderful, but mere speculation.”

She flipped the last card over: the Lovers.

“Ah, the Lovers. A hopeful card to end with,” said Chihaya with a smile. “Is there anyone special in your life right now?”

Goro frowned at Ren, who was looking at him with a goofy grin on his face. “Did you put her up to this?” He turned to Chihaya. “Did he?”

“Put me up to what?” she asked, wide-eyed. She looked between the two of them, Goro fuming and Ren trying not to laugh. “Ohhhhhh.”

“I didn’t tell her anything, but I love that you think I did,” said Ren, grinning like an idiot.

“The answer is _no._ There is no one ‘special’,” said Goro, scowling at Ren.

“Hmm...well, the final card predicts the future. It shows where your current path is leading. Besides romance, the Lovers also represent healing. Harmony. Integration.”

“I was injured in the catastrophe you mentioned and now I’m better, so that’s healing, right?”

“Yes, but...I’m getting a very strong feeling from this card,” said Chihaya, furrowing her brow. “Many cards represent success or accomplishment in some way. Of them all, the Lovers is the only one that requires more than just yourself.”

“Is that so,” said Goro flatly, crossing his arms over his chest as Ren nodded like a bobblehead.

Chihaya didn’t notice. Again, she was fully focused on the cards in front of her. Suddenly she looked up at him, clarity and purpose in her violet eyes.

“This spread, taken as a whole, says to me that you brought disaster on yourself by embracing lies and hiding the truth. You now have an opportunity to rebuild, but you won’t accomplish genuine healing on your own. Seek out companions. People of unusual insight and moral courage.”

“Unusual insight and moral courage. Should I try to find a leprechaun while I’m at it, so I can be rich too?”

Chihaya shrugged, smiling. “They’re around. You just have to be open to the experience.”

“You’re... _very_ optimistic,” said Goro.

Amamiya and Chihaya shared an amused look at that assessment, then Amamiya thanked her and he and Goro left to walk around a bit.

“That woman...she’s a friend of yours. You really didn’t tell her anything?”

“I really didn’t. She has a genuine gift,” said Ren. He stopped and averted his eyes, pretending to look at a movie poster glued to a brick wall. “I’m not going to say I wasn’t happy I saw that last card, though….”

“Oh please. You assume she meant you? Your ego is out of what little control you ever had,” said Goro scornfully.

Grinning playfully, Ren said, “You sure you want to challenge the Phantom Thief of Hearts? Game on, then.”

Goro’s heart thumped so hard he was afraid Ren would hear it and tease him. What was he doing? This was totally different than their previous rivalry. Different, but...not entirely unwelcome.

Ren bit his lip and looked up through his long, dark eyelashes. Goro felt something he decided must be annoyance. ...Yes, definitely that.


	6. In A Sentimental Mood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stars align and Goro has the happiest birthday of his life.

_I can see the stars come through my room_

_While your loving attitude_

_Is like a flame that lights the gloom_

* * *

After the school holiday ended and Ren went back home, Goro went to school feeling irritated and unloaded some bile on Suzui. Suzui, who didn’t know Ren, loyally agreed with every terrible thing Goro had to say about him. She even promised to slap Ren if she ever met him, which may or may not have been a sincere offer, but was immensely satisfying to hear.

After school, when he went to work at Crossroads, he brought up Ren there too. Lala-san’s reaction was completely different: although she agreed that Ren sounded like a cad and a louse and a scoundrel, she seemed to be giggling behind her fan for some reason. That was far less satisfying, so Goro gave up on complaining pretty quickly.

Luckily, Ren was a problem that solved himself. He was only in Tokyo briefly, for the school holiday, then he had to go back to his real life. _Phantom Thief, indeed,_ thought Goro. _Good luck stealing hearts from a hundred miles away._ He looked sincere, but...what was that idiot trying to pull, anyway?

* * *

Meanwhile, Sae was following Masayoshi Shido’s court case closely. His lawyers had been pestering her to get Akechi to talk to Shido, which she flatly refused. If Shido was going to deny their association and never speak to Akechi again, that was just fine. Smart kid or no, she didn’t want Akechi anywhere near that Svengali.

Normally defendants gave statements to their own attorneys, or to police or prosecutors in interrogation rooms. However, Shido had requested to give his statement in open court, meaning he wanted people to hear it. Sure enough, most of the people filling the gallery were journalists. Whatever he had to say would be widely reported.

To open, Shido described the Metaverse as a fever-dream brought about by drug abuse. Then he recanted certain parts of his confession that implicated his accomplices, taking the blame on himself. Sae made notes about who, specifically, he was exonerating. She knew some of the names from her own investigation, but not all of them.

As Shido spoke, Sae watched his body language and listened for signs of stress in his voice. He was shackled and chained so he could hardly move, but his voice was clear and purposeful as he made his statement. There was no indication that he had been coerced or drugged.

“And finally,” said Shido as he was wrapping up, “I want to apologize for the things I said about Goro Akechi. They were untrue. In fact, I do not know Goro Akechi personally. I know him the same way everyone does -- from the TV.”

Sae’s head jerked up from her notes in surprise. She found that Shido was looking right at her, boring a hole in her with his intense eyes.

As if he was speaking directly to her, he went on, “If you try to find any evidence that we so much as said hello on the street, you’ll discover that there is none. Might as well file for dismissal right now.”

Sae’s head was swimming. This was a shockingly brazen statement -- there had to be _some_ record of their interaction. As the hearing adjourned, she avoided the scrum of reporters and went out the opposite door. Drawing on her knowledge of the courthouse, she made her way to a quiet hallway she knew of and waited there.

It was a bit of a gamble, but she knew cops; she figured they’d take the most familiar route. As the bailiffs brought Shido past, she stepped out in front of him, arms crossed. The bailiffs stopped, confused, and one of them barked at her to get out of the way.

“Let her have her say,” said Shido, and the bailiff fell silent. Even from prison, Shido commanded authority. “Well, Ms. Niijima? Are you willing to arrange a meeting with Akechi now?”

“No. I just want to know why you’re lying about him,” said Sae. “What are you plotting?”

Shido attempted to shrug innocently, though his bindings made it difficult. “I’m not plotting anything. The kid is off the hook. If anyone from my organization tries to contact him, tell them the same thing you told me.”

“Go to hell?” she said, cocking an eyebrow.

“Exactly,” he said, smirking. “But I’d be more polite if I were you. The rest of my associates aren’t all as charming as me.”

He leered at her as the bailiffs escorted him off down the hall.

* * *

That night over dinner, Sae explained what had happened in court. Goro turned it over in his mind. He’d always assumed he wouldn’t live through his revenge plan. Over the two years he spent with Shido, who alternated flattery with threats, Goro had simply gotten used to the idea that his life was fated to be nasty, brutish, and short. Ironically, it was harder to imagine confessing now, knowing he’d need to serve time in prison then come out and continue living. Now that he had a comfortable home and good friends, he found that he didn’t want to lose them.

Nevertheless, he hated the idea that the choice was already made for him. It made him feel like a pawn in his own life. _Shido can go to hell_ , he thought. _He doesn’t get a say in what I do._ But there wasn’t an obvious way to defy him; if the evidence was gone, it was just the word of a teenager against that of an adult. Even worse, Goro couldn’t even rely on his own recollections. Any reasonably competent attorney could easily poke holes in his story.

What did Shido want? Why do this? And what about Goro’s missing memories? It honestly didn’t make it any easier to deny everything and walk away. There were still too many unanswered questions.

* * *

On the second of June, Goro turned eighteen. He’d made it his routine to start a pot of coffee first thing in the morning, but found it already running today. Sae, normally a bit of a night-owl, was up already and doodling on a notepad at the table. He peeked over her shoulder and saw a series of names and a lot of question marks.

He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at his usual place at the table. There was an envelope, containing a card with a lavishly illustrated sushi boat on the front. On the inside was written, _This is the closest either of us is getting to good sushi this year. Happy birthday anyway._

“It’s the thought that counts. Thank you, Sae-san,” he said with a smile.

She shrugged apologetically. “I’d like to take you out this evening, if you don’t have anything else planned. Adjusting your expectations slightly downward, is there anywhere special you want to go?”

Goro looked down at the table, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by her generosity. He was delighted by her offer, but at the same time, for reasons he didn’t understand, he also felt a bit panicky. Not wanting to reveal either of those embarrassing emotions, he hid his reaction and played it cool. “Hmm? I should probably work, don’t you think?”

“Not on your life. If Lala-san finds out I sent you to work on your birthday, we’re getting in a slap fight. You have to save me from that fate.”

The image of Lala smacking Sae with her fan, and Sae responding by yanking off Lala’s wig, made Goro laugh out loud and relieved the tension he was feeling. Somehow, Sae had a way of putting him at ease.

“Much as I would love to see that,” he said, “I haven’t been to the jazz club in Kichijoji in forever. Do you know that place?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ve never been there.”

“All right, then let’s go tonight. You’re in for a treat,” he said with a grin.

* * *

When Goro got to school, Suzui seemed more upbeat than usual. She was mysterious about the reasons why until lunchtime, when she took a detour to her locker to retrieve a small white box. She wanted to have lunch with him and the day was sunny and mild, so they went to one of the outdoor picnic tables.

Suzui set the box ceremoniously in front of him and drummed her fingers impatiently on the table. She seemed to be desperately trying to keep a straight face, but it was no use. She could barely contain her excitement. Amused, Goro decided to tease her a little.

“Hmm, what a lovely cardboard box,” he said, inspecting it like a jeweler would examine a gem. “Such an exquisite shade of white...truly, you could use this to contain almost anything. It is a mystery what could possibly be inside --”

He was prepared to go on and on until she stopped him, which she finally did by slapping his arm and crying, “ _Open it already!_ ”

Chuckling, he opened the box. It was a cupcake, beautifully decorated with creamy white frosting and a strawberry on top. He lifted it out to admire for a moment.

“Happy birthday!” she said. “I made it myself!”

“Really? It looks professional-grade. Are you secretly a pastry chef?”

“Guess again, Mr. Detective. I _might_ have made a lot before the one that turned out good, but you’ll never prove it. All the evidence is gone now.” She patted her belly.

“Then you’ll have to explain...there’s so much frosting. How do I eat this?”

“There’s no delicate way to eat something like that. Your best bet is to stuff it in your face as fast as possible,” she said, pulling out her phone.

“I can’t help noticing you’ve readied your camera,” he said, arching an eyebrow.

“Who, me?” she giggled, snapping a shot of him getting frosting all over his face.

“This is not funny at all,” he mock-protested with a dollop of cream on his nose. “Take me seriously.”

That made her laugh so hard she dropped the phone.

“Serves you right,” he said, licking his fingers, as she ducked under the table to get it. It occurred to him that he should feel embarrassed, clowning around like this, but it was just...fun to make her laugh. More fun than embarrassing.

“Oh, I’m going to remember this day forever,” said Suzui, wiping away tears. “So, did you enjoy the cupcake? The other girls told me you like sweets.”

 _Damn you, Detective Prince_ , thought Goro. Out loud, he said, “I might’ve played that up a little for the cameras….”

Her eyes widened and for a brief moment, a familiar anxiety pang ran through him. He’d said the wrong thing. She’d be upset. She’d think he was ungrateful. Why, for the love of god, did he tell her the _truth_?

But instead, she burst out laughing again. “Just a little honey for the bees, huh? I should’ve known. Although you ate it awfully fast for someone who doesn’t like sweets. Just saying.”

“D-don’t get me wrong!” he said quickly. “It really was delicious. I’m touched that you went to all that trouble for me. Thank you.”

An anodyne statement, but it was impossible to explain how touched he was. His birth wasn’t a cause for celebration in his family; he’d never had his own birthday cake before.

Suzui smiled happily and a faint blush rose on her cheeks. “I wanted to show you how important you are to me. Not just because you help me get around, but because you’ve been a good friend.”

She squeezed his hand and Goro felt a strange fluttering feeling in his chest. For no reason in particular, an image popped into his mind of a butterfly struggling out of a chrysalis and beating its brand-new wings for the first time. And yet...it was somewhat smothered, as if the butterfly couldn’t _quite_ take flight. What a bizarre feeling.

* * *

At five o’clock sharp, Sae was dressed to hit the town. When they got to Kichijoji, she looked longingly down the avenue of bars. They went on a bar-crawl, Sae starting with sake and Goro with soda. He asked for cola with a splash of grenadine and a cherry (another of Lala-san’s virgin cocktails), which garnered him some amused commentary from the adults.

After a while they were both getting hungry, so Goro gave Sae a quick rundown of all the best places in the neighborhood.

“Pork buns sound good, but it’s your birthday. Where do you want to go?” she asked.

“Pork buns are fine. The baozi shop’s pretty good. They have a spicy one that’ll set your mouth on fire.”

“Is that what you’re going to get? I didn’t know you liked spicy foods,” said Sae as they walked.

“I don’t. It’s their house specialty, but I don’t care for it.”

Sae laughed. “Well, I do. I’ll risk melting my teeth off. That should be cheap entertainment, at least.”

After the pork buns, they decided to take a look at the secondhand clothes shop. While they were poking around, Goro found a rack that looked oddly familiar.

“Sae-san...these are my clothes,” he said, pulling a tailored button-down off the rack and inspecting it. There was a small stain where he’d gotten coffee on the cuff...no question, these were the clothes he’d lost when he lost his apartment.

“Excuse me,” said Sae to the store clerk, still wearing a large floppy hat she was trying on, “But where did you get these?”

“Those? I don’t know specifically,” said the clerk. “We get some resales, but we also buy from estate sales and evictions, that kind of thing.”

Goro scooped up as many of his clothes as he could find, resigning himself to paying the trendy secondhand shop price. At least he wouldn’t have to get them tailored again.

“These are pretty swank,” said the clerk, ringing them up.

“Thanks, I thought so too,” said Goro dryly.

After the clothing store, Goro suggested a game of billiards. Sae agreed enthusiastically and then lost spectacularly and demanded a rematch. By the time they finished their second game, it was about time for Jazz Jin to open.

“Hey, Akechi-kun!” said the proprietor warmly as they walked in. “Haven’t seen you in forever, I was getting worried!”

“Mm...just studying and working,” said Goro. There seemed to be little point to admitting that he had, in fact, almost died in a ditch.

“You kids work crazy hard. Well, I’m happy to see you back. Tell you what, no cover tonight. A special for one of my favorite regulars and his lovely lady friend.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m really happy to be back,” said Goro with a genuine smile.

They went to find a table and Sae looked around, soaking up the ambience.

“It’s been forever since I went somewhere just for fun,” she said, flipping through the drink menu. “What’s good?”

“Do you prefer fruit-flavored or sparkling, or -- ”

Sae’s eyes widened. “That one has glitter -- ooh! This one glows in the dark!”

“Sae-san, I’ve never seen you as excited about anything as you are about the phosphorescent drink,” he laughed.

She nodded sagely. “When you’re having drinks with coworkers, you aren’t allowed to get anything fun. Two ingredients maximum and zero colors. That goes double if the boss is there.”

As they listened to the music and sipped their brightly-colored drinks, Goro commented on the musical selections.

“I’m not boring you, am I?” he asked after a while.

“Not at all. I’m sorry I don’t have anything to add, but I don’t think I can keep up with your knowledge of the topic. I had no idea you were so interested in music. Why didn’t you ever talk about it before?”

“I did, if someone else brought it up. Most adults just want to talk about trends or restaurants, so that’s mostly what I studied.”

He thought she might say something soppy about how he should be himself or whatever, but she surprised him.

“Don’t forget the weather,” said Sae, laughing. “Adults are so boring. I understand, though. There’s a lot about myself I kept hidden at work too.”

“Like what?”

“Well...this is a little embarrassing, so keep it between us, all right?”

He nodded, intensely curious.

“When I was sixteen, I spent a summer working as a croupier in a casino. I know how to play fifteen different card games...and how to cheat at all of them.”

“How to cheat?” he raised an eyebrow.

“An entirely legitimate area of study,” she said, grinning. “To catch cheaters, you need to know what they’re likely to be doing.”

“That’s...wait, you were sixteen? Is that legal?”

She looked guiltily away. “Not technically, no...my career in the gaming world ended when the casino I worked at was raided by the cops. Well, one cop. My dad, actually.”

Goro clapped a hand over his mouth to cover his laugh. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” said Sae, laughing too. “I think he was more upset about the outfit I had to wear than the gambling. Hey, did you ever talk to Kitagawa-kun about music?”

“Kitagawa…? Isn’t he into painting?”

“Music is art too. The way you talk about motifs and influences made me think of him. You two could probably learn a lot from each other. Just an idle thought.”

“Thoughts seem to wander more freely here. It’s one of the reasons I like it. Um….” He paused, feeling awkward, then decided to just spit it out. “You could use my first name if you wanted to. And, uh, thanks for taking me here tonight.”

Sae smiled at him. “Thanks for sharing it with me, Goro-kun. And why don’t you just call me Sae from now on?”

* * *

When they returned home, Goro tossed his shopping bags on the floor of his room. He came back out to the living room, where Sae was catching the end of the nightly news and rifling through the day’s mail. She handed him a padded envelope, postmarked from the Shibuya neighborhood. Hmm.

Inside was an inexpensive cell phone. It had been unwrapped, but it didn’t have scratches or signs of extensive use. The screen had been wiped of fingerprints, but Goro thought if he tried, he might be able to lift some from the less obvious parts of the phone.

Of course, it would take time to lift and run fingerprints. Quicker would be to simply turn the thing on.

The phone booted up and Goro flicked around the default apps. There were a lot of them; the cheaper the phone, the more of these garbage apps came preloaded. He dragged some weird eyeball-looking thing into the trash along with a number of others.

Then he checked the contact list. There was exactly one: Ren Amamiya. Of course.

 _The game is afoot_ , he thought, wondering if he was Sherlock Holmes or Professor Moriarty.

 _Pawn to e4_ , he texted Ren.

 _Pawn to e5_ , came the reply almost immediately.

Then, _Happy birthday!_ 🎂

Goro felt absurdly pleased, but he wasn’t going to tell Ren that.

 **Goro: __** _Knight to f3. I’m going to crush you_.

**Ren: __**_Knight to c6_

**Goro:** _Bishop to b5_

 **Ren:** _Spanish opening complete. What could happen next…?_ 😉

 **Goro:** _Are you coming on to me?_ 🤨

**Ren: __**_Ooh, somebody thinks highly of himself!_

**Goro:** _Still you. Anyway, I thought you liked girls._

There was a long pause. Then,

 **Ren:** _If it’s gay to be happy you’re alive, that’s ok with me_

Goro blushed and clicked the screen off. Then he turned it back on and re-read the text and blushed again and flipped the phone over. He had only intended to poke fun at Ren, at how gushy and silly he was acting. He wasn’t _serious_ , for god’s sake.

On the other end of the couch, Sae raised an eyebrow at him.

 _Now who’s acting like a schoolgirl?_ he chided himself.

He said goodnight to Sae and headed to bed, still annoyed at Ren for messing with him. He started listing ways to get back at him, getting as far as “dress up like a butler and serve him a poisoned soufflé” before drifting off to sleep.

That night, he dreamed that he got up out of bed, took the elevator down to the street, and stood on the sidewalk outside the apartment building. The street was dark and almost entirely silent, making it feel not like Tokyo at all.

On the other side of the street, someone stepped into the lone streetlight, dressed in a black-and-blue striped suit with a tattered cape. He flipped up the visor on his black mask and Goro found himself staring into his own eyes.

“It’s about time you got a damn phone. Now quit playing around,” said the black-suited figure. “We’ve got work to do.”


	7. We Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro searches for any evidence he can use against Shido while being dragged against his will into the Metaverse.

_We three, we're all alone_

_Living in a memory_

_We're not even company_

_My echo, my shadow, and me._

Goro gazed steadily at this person who looked so much like him. His height and build -- and face -- were identical, but his body language and manner of speaking were noticeably different.

“Come on. Let’s go. What are you, slow or something?” said the black-masked figure.

Goro wasn’t about to take orders from a stranger, even one that looked just like him. Instead, he took a good look around. The streets, which he’d initially thought were empty, were actually filled with dark shapes shuffling silently along. It was similar to the real world except that these things barely qualified as people; their skin, clothes, and even their body language was a dull monochrome. Farther away, he could see enormous searchlights beaming high into the sky. What sounded like fireworks or gunshots popped in the distance. It was unsettling to say the least.

When he was good and ready (and his double was fuming with impatience), Goro said, “I’m not going anywhere without an explanation. Why are you dressed like the drummer in an emo band?”

“The question is, _why aren’t you_ dressed like some reject from a Tchaikovsky ballet?”

Goro looked down at his clothes. He was still wearing the pajamas he’d gone to bed in. For no reason he could see, a word popped into his head. “Crow…?” he said to himself.

The other boy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, me Crow. You Goro. You really don’t remember, huh? This is the Metaverse.”

“Then...you must have my memories,” said Goro, putting the pieces together.

“Bravo, ace detective. You want ‘em back or what?”

Goro let that sit for a bit. Then he said, “I don’t know.”

Crow’s eye twitched. “You _don’t know_? Is it necessary to be so asinine? We’re the same person. You need me and I need you. This isn’t a hard choice.”

Goro stroked his chin. “Do you know why this happened?”

Crow didn’t answer, apparently unwilling to admit that he didn’t know.

“There must be some reason I can’t remember things that happened to me,” said Goro. “Wouldn’t you say?”

Gritting his teeth, Crow growled, “Listen, Dr. Maruki says we need to get back together, no matter how repulsive that may be to either of us. Let’s get it done.”

Without waiting for an answer, Crow grabbed Goro’s hand and squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating hard.

Goro blinked.

Seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

“You don’t know how to do it,” said Goro dryly, shaking off his twin’s hand.

“Let’s go see Maruki. He better have a good explanation.”

Crow turned and started to walk away, but looked back over his shoulder to find Goro still standing there.

“If you’re really me,” Goro said thoughtfully, “Then tell me something. Is there or is there not proof that I worked with Masayoshi Shido?”

“How dumb do you think we are? _Of course_ there’s proof. I recorded all my conversations with Shido on my phone and backed them up on the laptop.”

“I don’t have the phone or the laptop anymore, but the prosecutor’s office should have access to those. Hmm….”

“So? What do you need that stuff for?”

“Shido is denying any knowledge of me and my activities. If I want to testify against him, I’ll need some evidence to back it up.”

Crow put a hand on his hip. “Aren’t you overlooking something rather obvious?”

“What’s that?”

“You can’t testify against Shido unless you _have_ a testimony, idiot. I’m the one who holds those memories, or so you’ve been saying. If we recombine, then you’ll have all my memories and I’ll have a body again. Win-win, no?”

Goro’s thoughts spun, trying to make sense of all he’d learned. Rationally, he knew there was no chance he’d get to the bottom of things without his doppleganger. Emotionally, he felt like a pawn on a chessboard, moved around and promoted or sacrificed at the whim of some unknown player. There was very little that made him angrier than that.

“I...need to think all this through. I’m going home,” said Goro, and went back towards the apartment building.

 _“Coward! That’s not your home!”_ yelled Crow at the apartment building, but it was too late. His other half was gone.

Inside the building, Goro paused, rolling his eyes as he heard the other one’s shout.

At the same time, though they couldn’t hear each other, both Goro Akechis muttered to themselves, “What an asshole.”

* * *

When he woke from that strange dream, Goro felt equal parts sick and encouraged. He had a new lead, though, and that wasn’t nothing.

Over breakfast, he asked Sae whether she was able to get ahold of his laptop and phone.

“Mm? Why do you ask?”

“Last night, it occurred to me that I may have recordings of my meetings with Shido. I would have kept them on either my phone or my laptop.”

She sighed heavily. “Wouldn’t that be helpful. Actually, I’ve made numerous requests to the prosecutor’s office for access to the belongings of yours that they’re keeping as evidence....”

“Numerous…? They’ve refused?”

“They’ve been giving me the runaround for weeks. Truth be told, I think they don’t have it anymore.”

Goro sat back, sipping his coffee and thinking. “I see. Shido’s out of the picture -- maybe -- but his organization is still intact. It wouldn’t be hard for either him or one of his associates to get one of their purchased police officers to take a few things out of an evidence locker.”

“It’s probably Shido himself still directing things,” said Sae. “The way he spoke at his hearing gave me the impression that he knew already the evidence was gone.”

“Damn.” Goro banged his hand on the table.

“Then you’re certain you don’t want to pursue a full denial?” asked Sae, peering over her coffee mug.

Goro shook his head. “I can’t stand letting that man get the better of me. I’m going to take him down, just like I promised --” his voice faltered. He had sworn on his mother’s grave, but he wasn’t ready to tell Sae about all that. “Just like I promised I would.”

“Very well. I still think there are a lot of mitigating factors, so I’ll focus on those. Having those recordings would help, I’m sure.”

* * *

In school that day, Goro dedicated a fraction of his brainpower to looking normal in class and the rest to his case and the mysterious double. Unlike a normal dream, he remembered his conversation with his other self clearly. It was true that he couldn’t testify without intact memories, but that didn’t mean the black-masked thing necessarily had leverage. _If he was really me_ , thought Goro, _he’d know I wouldn’t just roll over._

There were still avenues to explore with this new information. All of a sudden, in the middle of math class, he was struck with inspiration: _backup_. He’d made a backup on the laptop. But surely he also would have set up automated cloud backups! He had lost some memories, but he could still remember his passwords.

He was so taken with this idea that he cut his next class, instead barging into the computer lab, attendance be damned. He opened up a browser window and started brainstorming his accounts, every personal, school, and work account he could think of, opening them all in new tabs and organizing them by likely relevance. Then he went through each one methodically, logging in and checking their file repositories.

The first one had nothing that seemed likely. Fine; that was a school account, he probably wouldn’t have kept anything secret there. Second was a drive he’d shared with some police officers under the table (the police officially didn’t use cloud storage for data security reasons, but convenience tended to trump security). That account had been closed, the files presumably deleted.

One by one he went through them, from the obvious all the way down to the music account where he saved his playlists.

“No... _no!_ ” he cried, banging the keyboard in frustration. Not only did these accounts not hold what he was looking for, it was worse than that: some of them had actually been cleaned out, either the files deleted or the account closed entirely. The person who had his phone would be able to do that, if they’d cracked his unlock code. And it looked like they had.

He put his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands. He stayed that way for a long time, until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Akechi-san?”

It was Suzui.

Goro looked up blearily, wondering what time it was. Was school over? How many classes had he missed only to faceplant straight into the metaphorical pavement?

“Are you okay? The office sent me down...they said you were having some kind of a meltdown.”

“This isn’t a meltdown,” he said morosely. “This is just frustration.”

The rest of the class was filing in and watching them curiously. Sighing, Goro let Suzui lead him outside where they could speak privately.

“You aren’t acting like yourself, Akechi-san,” she said. “If there’s something bothering you, anything at all...I want you to know that you can tell me.”

He hesitated. He didn’t want to tell her about the court case. Although she was trying to be nice, she was just giving him one more problem to fix: the problem of getting rid of her without offending her. Times like this he would so much rather be alone.

“I understand if you can’t, though,” she said, after a moment. “If it’s something big...all I ask is that you remember I’m here for you before you do anything drastic. Okay?”

He blinked, surprised. If he hadn’t been so distracted with his own problems, he might have connected the dots to her “accidental injury,” but he was too preoccupied to think about it.

“Okay. I will.” Strangely, he felt a bit better. Maybe it was just knowing he had an extra option, even if he never intended to use it. “Um...Suzui...how is it I’m here talking to you and not getting chewed out in the principal’s office?”

She smirked at that. “Ah. It seems they’re kind of terrified of your mom? They would rather not get her involved.”

“I don’t blame them,” said Goro, thinking, _Bless you, Sae. You are a queen among peasants._

“Did she...is she the reason you’re able to carry my things?”

“Yes. She’s the one who came up with the arrangement and got the school to agree. It helped you and got me out of trouble, so….”

“I’m a little jealous,” said Suzui wistfully. “My parents...well, they don’t rock the boat. When I started here, I thought at first that the school administration had refused their requests to get me some help.”

“Hmm? You mean you asked for someone to do what I’m doing?”

“Yeah, among other things. I talked with my parents about what I thought I’d need. But I think...I think they just didn’t bother asking for any of it.”

She looked distressed, but he wasn’t sure what to say. Lazy and uncaring parents were far from the worst he’d ever encountered, but he didn’t think that would make her feel better.

Suzui followed up her own thought, filling the awkward space. “I’m sorry -- look at me, talking about myself when I came here to comfort _you_. God, I’m --” she stopped herself, flustered. “Okay, look. A friendship can’t be all take and no give. You _promise me_ if I can help you with something, you’ll ask. I feel like such a freeloader! You have to let me repay you somehow.”

Goro smiled. At last, this he could understand. Taking charity was humiliating; she wanted a more reciprocal relationship. He respected that.

“I promise,” he said, shaking her hand.

* * *

That night, Goro found himself again in the surreal un-Tokyo world. He returned to the street and found his doppelganger there again.

“Did you bring me here?” Goro demanded.

Crow shrugged. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”

“Don’t try to bluff me, of all people. You don’t even know if you’re bringing me here, isn’t that right?”

“All the more reason to find Dr. Maruki.”

“Who is that?”

“You don’t remember him? Oh, that’s going to hurt his feelings.” Crow smirked. “Let me tell him, please.”

 _I hate you_ , thought Goro. Out loud, he said, “Go find him and bring him here if it’s so important. I’m not going anywhere with the likes of you.”

He wasn’t even sure why he was so opposed to helping the doppleganger, but his dislike and suspicion of him grew every day. Yet every night, they met again in dreams.

* * *

For the next few days, Sae noticed that Goro was getting grumpier. Dark shadows appeared under his eyes. Occasionally his eyes would glaze over and he’d just stare into the middle-distance for a few seconds before blinking back to life.

Yet whenever she asked, he said firmly that he wouldn’t stay home from school, he was just fine, in fact sleep was the _last_ thing he needed. That was a strange thing to say, Sae thought. Perhaps another sign that he was unraveling somehow.

On top of that, the prosecutor’s office called with bizarre news. According to them, the signal from Goro’s GPS monitor was disappearing each and every night. Then, after a while, it would reappear. After some badgering, Sae discovered that the location didn’t change; he was in their apartment before the ankle bracelet “disappeared” and back there again afterwards. She gave them a piece of her mind for wasting her time with their own flaky technology, but in the back of her mind she wondered if this might not be connected with his apparent insomnia.

She broached the topic at breakfast one day, beginning with the ankle bracelet mystery.

“The bracelet is disappearing?” he said blankly, looking lost.

“Kind of. Since it isn’t actually going anywhere, I was able to hold them off for now...but if you have any idea what’s happening, it would be better to stop it.”

“Disappearing….” he repeated.

“You do seem a bit tired,” she said, frowning. “Do you think the two things might be related?”

“It’s fine. I’ll figure it out. Oops, time to catch my train” he said, throwing her an obviously fake smile that did nothing to ease her mind.

Sae sighed as he ran out the door like he was being chased. She wanted to help him, but unless she could somehow gain firsthand knowledge of the Metaverse -- or he could bring himself to trust her -- she was flying blind.

* * *

On the way to school, Goro dozed off on the subway and almost missed his stop. He found a coffee vending machine on his way out of the station and bought six cans, finishing off two as he walked.

When he got to the front gates of his school, Suzui greeted him cheerfully as she always did, but as he came closer, a little worry line creased her forehead.

“Are you doing alright, Akechi-san?”

“Why does everyone keep asking that?” he said with a sigh.

“Well, um…your tie’s crooked, your hair’s messy, and you’ve buttoned all your buttons one-off. It’s just not you,” she said apologetically, as if any of this were her fault.

“Entropy,” he said, unbuttoning his blazer to try it again. “The tendency of order to devolve into chaos.”

She smiled. “Now that sounds like you. Hey, I got this great app the other day. It has a library of guided meditations.”

“Hmm,” said Goro, his attention already waning. It was so hard to pay attention to things lately.

“I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping, but now I just drift right off and sleep like a baby. Let me send it to you.”

Suzui flicked through her apps. There was one she didn’t recognize, something she hadn’t installed. _Malware, how annoying_ , she thought. She deleted the rogue app and sent a link to the meditation one. A little thing, but it was all she could think to do for him.

* * *

That night, Goro had a shift at Crossroads. The sound of the train always made him a little sleepy, but he was too apprehensive about meeting the other him to do more than doze.

As he walked into the bar, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He rejected the call and said, “Shut up, Amamiya,” to the phone. Ah yes, talking to an inanimate object, surely the sign of a stable mind.

“Ooh, what’s he got to say?” said Lala-san, raising her penciled eyebrows.

“Nothing. He annoys me all day long with nonsense,” said Goro, poking at the phone. “Oh wait, that’s a chess move…. Tch, he evaded my trap…. Anyway, just listen to these texts: ‘Class is boring today. We covered this last year at Shujin.’ ‘Here’s the view out my bedroom window’ -- what is this, a corn field?”

He showed her the phone, scrolling to demonstrate the ridiculous number of texts Ren had sent him.

“Looks to me like a _beautiful sunset_ over a corn field. What else, what else? Is this his new school uniform? Aww.” Lala watched the pictures scroll by with her chin in her hands and a big, goofy grin on her face.

“What?” said Goro suspiciously. “What’s that look for?”

“Amamiya, he’s your….”

“Rival. My _rival_.”

“Right. I had a rival in high school too. Everything he did, I tried to do one better. Followed him around all the time, just waiting for the chance to one-up him. Thought about him day and night, trying to figure out how I could beat him. That sound familiar?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it,” said Goro. “He’s so good at everything. It drives me crazy!”

Lala picked up a fan and fanned herself theatrically. “He’s sending you pictures of his hometown, right? Like he can compete with Tokyo. Send him a few selfies in some exciting places. Make him regret he ever went back to West Podunk. That’s what I would do.”

“That’s...a great idea,” said Goro, nodding. “He’s going to be burning with jealousy. Thanks, Lala-san.”

“Mama Lala always provides,” said Lala, covering her mouth with the fan and winking over the top.

By the time Goro got home he was so exhausted he nearly fell asleep in the elevator, but he made it to his bedroom and flopped down on the bed. His phone buzzed. There was a message from Amamiya.

 _What’s up?_ read the text message. The most worthless of all greetings. He sighed. Amamiya was the nosiest person he’d ever met -- he would never leave him alone until he got answers.

 **Goro:** _I don’t know. You messaged me._

**Ren:** _Niijima-san is worried about you. She asked me to check up_

Goro considered the best way to get Amamiya off his back. Then something he’d said earlier popped into his head -- something about the Metaverse…. Something about tying Shido to his crimes? He didn’t love going to Amamiya for help, but it was his last lead.

He called Ren’s number and set up the phone on the headboard behind him.

The second Ren answered, Goro said, “If you say ‘what’s up’ again, I’m hanging up.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to start on such a controversial note.” Ren cleared his throat and dropped his voice an octave. “So what are you wearing?”

“What are you -- stop joking around!” said Goro, flustered. Unable to think of any other retort, he snapped, “What are _you_ wearing?” He regretted it as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

“A mask. Wanna know what else?” said Amamiya slyly.

“ _No._ Look, Amamiya...when you were in that other place did you ever encounter a...a double of a person?”

“Yes,” said Ren immediately. “A few times. Did you meet another you? Someone else?”

“Another me. What is the nature of these things?”

“What are they...not a simple question. Some of them were cognitions. Some were shadows. If we were inside one person’s head and we encountered that person, that would be a shadow. But if we saw other people, those were cognitions.”

Goro thought that over. “To restate...my concept of myself versus my concept of someone else?”

“Yeah. You have to be careful, though. If it’s a shadow and you kill it, you’ll die too. If it’s just somebody else’s cognition, then nothing will happen.”

“At least the risk/benefit ratio is pretty clear. If you didn’t kill these things, what did you do with them?”

“Beat them up and stole their stuff -- ” There was an angry cat yowl on Amamiya’s side of the phone. “Uh, Morgana wants me to say we only stole their distorted desires.”

“Distorted desires…? For instance, you could steal an addict’s craving for drugs?”

“Yeah, you got it.”

Goro yawned. It was getting dark. “Tell me some more about the Metaverse. I kind of understand, but Sae’s explanation was kind of light on details.”

Ren launched into an explanation. “Well, first of all, it’s important to understand that it’s the world of the subconscious. Except Mementos, that’s the collective unconscious, and then there are Personas...have you ever read any Jung?”

“Of course, but I’m more of a Nietzschean myself.”

“The ‘God is dead’ guy?”

Delighted that Amamiya knew what he was talking about -- but clearly a lot less -- Goro chuckled and said, “That’s the one. Although I’m more interested in his interpretation of the Apollonian/Dionysian dialectic, the balance between order and chaos.” He savored Amamiya’s silence for a moment, then said, “Anyway, I’m taking us on a tangent. Back to the Metaverse.”

He drifted off to sleep with Amamiya’s voice in his ear babbling about grappling hooks or something.

...And he woke up with Amamiya’s face in his face, staring into his eyes, upside-down.


	8. All Or Nothing At All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With support from Ren, Goro overcomes his identity crisis

**Chapter 8: All Or Nothing At All**

Amamiya jumped back, startled.

Goro uttered a strangled cry of alarm before he composed himself enough to ask, “What’s going on? Why are you here? _How_ are you here?”

He scooted to the other end of the bed and realized Amamiya was somehow sitting on the headboard. He was wearing what looked like a stage magician’s outfit and a masquerade-style mask.

Amamiya made a little flourish with his hands and said, “Phantom thief! Sha-blam!”

Goro just blinked at him, eyes as round as saucers.

“Just kidding,” said Amamiya. “We’re in the Metaverse, aren’t we? I guess you probably pulled me in through the phone.”

“Is that another joke?” said Goro.

Amamiya shook his head and showed him his own phone. “Look -- this app -- it’s the Metaverse Navigator. We use it to enter and exit the Metaverse.”

“Did you install this on that phone you sent?” said Goro accusingly. He remembered the weird icon -- he had deleted that app, or so he thought.

“No, no. I didn’t even install it on my own phone. I’m not exactly sure where it comes from, honestly. All I know is, if you have access to it, there’s got to be some reason.”

Goro hesitated. This was so weird. Trying to get his balance back, he said, “I thought you were kidding about wearing a mask. I guess I should be grateful you’re wearing clothes, too.”

Ren looked down at his hands. “Ah. Yeah, something’s definitely going on in the Metaverse.” He tilted his head at Goro and added, “But you don’t have _your_ costume.”

“Of course he doesn’t,” said a child-like voice from somewhere in the room.

Goro looked around, startled. Who else was here?

“He’s been disconnected from the Metaverse somehow. He’s basically a civilian,” the voice continued, and Goro was finally able to track it to the door. He peeked over the end of the bed and jumped again.

Standing in the doorway was some kind of...cat?

“What’s your problem?” said the cat, frowning.

“Sorry,” said Goro, not sure what else to say to a bipedal talking cat with a watermelon-shaped head.

“This is Morgana. You remember. From my bag,” said Amamiya.

“Oh, the talking cat from your bag. Of course,” Goro agreed, feeling a little dazed. “Since you’re here, I guess you should see...the other one. The other me.”

Amamiya raised his eyebrows and nodded. Goro led them out into the common area of his apartment.

While they walked, Amamiya took a quick peek around. “This is Niijima-san’s place, huh? Nice.”

Goro felt a twinge of annoyance and realized he’d been thinking of it as _his_ place. Home.

As they headed out and down to street level, Goro looked at the cat and mused, “Morgana. Where did you get that name?”

“Huh?” Morgana blinked his wide, cartoon-like eyes. “I don’t know. I suppose it just sprang into being like the rest of me. Why do you ask?”

“I wondered if you were named after Morgan le Fay, the sorceress of Arthurian legend.”

“Well, I’m not a sorceress. I’m a legendary rogue. Look what I found in your room,” said Morgana, eyes glittering. He pulled out the star-shaped stone from his belt and tossed it up to Goro.

“You got one of those too, huh?” said Ren.

“What is it?” asked Goro, turning it over in his hand. He’d been using it as a paperweight on his desk. Some “legendary rogue” the cat was.

“We think it grants wishes,” said Ren. “But it’s not as straightforward as the genie in the lamp. We aren’t exactly sure how it works.”

“A wish upon a star,” mused Goro. “How romantic.”

* * *

At the ground floor, they found the black-masked Akechi already banging at the outside security door.

“He’s been doing this every night,” Goro muttered. “I haven’t been able to sleep in a week.”

“This one’s wearing his costume,” said Morgana thoughtfully.

“Hey, Crow!” called Amamiya to the black-masked figure. “What’s bonkin’?”

Crow stopped banging on the door to give his full energy to glaring at Ren. When he was done with that, he turned to Goro. “You absolute cretin. What did you bring _him_ here for?”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” said Goro mockingly.

“Can you take off the mask?” asked Ren, ignoring their sniping for the moment.

“Why?” asked Crow suspiciously.

“So I can see your eyes.”

Crow flipped up his visor and gave Ren another blast of scorn.

“They’re not yellow,” Ren observed.

“So?”

Morgana said, “Didn’t you ever notice that the eyes of shadows are yellow? That’s how you can tell them apart from real people.”

“Velvet Room attendants have yellow eyes too…” Ren added, thinking of Lavenza. Could she help with this? She’d had a similar episode and might have some ideas.

“Okay, but what does that tell us?” said Goro, tapping his chin.

Ren shrugged. “I have no idea. Except this isn’t your shadow and it isn’t from the Velvet Room.”

“We already knew that,” said Crow wearily. “We are the same person, as much as it pains me to admit it. Maruki called this dissociation.”

“Dissociation,” Goro murmured. “A state of disconnection from one’s own memories, emotions, or even identity. If we are truly part of the same person, I suppose that’s a reasonable description of our dilemma.”

“Dr. Maruki’s here?” said Ren. “What’s he up to?”

“Spying, brainwashing, snacks. You know, the usual,” said Crow.

“Huh,” said Ren thoughtfully. “So, what do you need to do to...uh, reassociate?”

“Who the hell knows? What a pain in the ass,” said Crow.

“It’s just so hard to believe that feral creature is me,” said Goro, squinting at his other self. “Is that the part of me that killed people?”

“Among other things you’re too feeble to handle,” said Crow contemptuously. “That must mean _you’re_ the pathetic part of me that lies to make people like you. Those people aren’t your friends, you know. They’re friends of the pretend Goro Akechi that you made up.”

“You have no right to say that,” said Goro, clenching his fist. “You’re a monster. If I can’t destroy you, then all I can do is try to keep you in a cage.”

“Stop trying to act all high and mighty,” Crow shot back. “Who do you think you’re fooling? You didn’t want Shido to face justice, you wanted _revenge_. Cheap and dirty. If I deserve to go to jail, you do too.”

They looked like they were seconds away from getting into a fistfight. Ren held up his hands. “Time out! Everybody take a breath.”

The two Goro Akechis looked at him grudgingly. He was tempted to ask them to make out, but he was pretty sure that wouldn’t go down well.

“Can we take a step back?” asked Ren. “If you two hate each other so much, why do you even _want_ to reassociate?”

“I’m stuck here in the Metaverse while he’s running around in the real world with my face,” said Crow, throwing a look at Goro. “But lest you think this is all take and no give, _he_ also wants something from me.”

“I need the memories I’m missing,” said Goro. “Masayoshi Shido has denied all knowledge of me and the things I did for him. He stated under oath that he never met me. As far as the courts are concerned, nothing I did even happened.”

Morgana shook his head sadly. “All those people who suffered...no one would ever know what really happened to them.”

Ren was awed and -- if he was honest with himself -- a bit envious. “Then you really could get out of this with no charges, no jail time, no criminal record. All because Masayoshi Shido pulled his last strings for you.”

“Feh. Screw him,” said Crow dismissively.

“Precisely,” said Goro. “I’m going to testify to every last thing I did in his service.”

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. “Let me get this straight. You’ve been split into two parts that hate each other, and the only thing you agree on is that you’re going to confess to a bunch of crimes out of sheer spite.”

“You got a problem with that?” said Crow.

Goro raised his eyebrows challengingly.

“Nah. It’s actually pretty on-brand for you,” said Ren. “But I think I see why you can’t do it.”

They looked at him expectantly. Ren took a breath. _“Because you hate each other,”_ he said, slowly and clearly. This was so obvious. Of course mortal enemies wouldn’t want to be smushed into the same body. They’d only be able to do it if they could reconcile somehow.

The two Akechis narrowed their eyes with identical scorn. As if they’d planned it, they simultaneously turned their backs to him so they could talk amongst themselves.

Ren sighed and turned away, looking out into this new version of Tokyo. Aside from the lack of noise and light, it wasn’t too distorted. But not too far away -- in the same neighborhood, but a few blocks away -- there was a strange pulsing, similar to the way heat made things look blurry.

“What’s going on out there?” Morgana said thoughtfully. “You don’t suppose….”

“Amamiya,” said one of the Akechis. Ren turned back toward them. They sounded exactly alike, but he could tell just from the tone of voice that it was the nice-guy version that was speaking. “Amamiya, you mentioned Velvet Room attendants earlier. What is the Velvet Room?”

“You mean you never went…? Huh. That kind of makes sense, actually.”

Ren considered. The first time he visited the Velvet Room, he’d been dragged there against his will. After that, he could come and go, but…. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t Lavenza told him that she was the one who opened the doors for him? She’d placed them conveniently and removed them when their purpose was fulfilled. The Velvet Room came for him, not the other way around.

“Morgana, do you have any ideas about how to get back into the Velvet Room?” Ren asked.

“I’ve only been there twice myself, remember,” said Morgana, shaking his head.

“What about this?” suggested Goro, holding up the star. “You said it granted wishes.”

“Good idea. Let me give it a try.”

Ren took the star and held it, imagining the blue door that led to the Velvet Room. He closed his eyes and tried to recall every detail. When he had a solid picture in his mind’s eye, he let himself wander a bit. He let go of the physical sensations that kept his mind grounded and reached out with his heart, hoping Lavenza would be able to sense his call.

He didn’t know how long he drifted like that, but after a while, he felt the brush of a butterfly’s wings against his cheek. The glowing blue butterfly flapped as if in greeting. Ren smiled and opened his eyes.

Returning to his senses was so disorienting it made him dizzy. He stumbled a little, almost falling over. When he recovered himself, he found Lavenza standing in front of him.

“It is good to see you,” she said placidly.

“You too,” said Ren. “You never met my friend, did you? This is Goro Akechi. And, uh, Crow.”

“His better half,” said Crow, smirking.

Lavenza looked over at the two Akechis. “Another one...how unusual.”

“He’s having kind of an identity crisis,” said Ren. “I was wondering if you could help. Maybe break out the guillotine?”

“The _what_?” said both Akechis together.

“Interesting,” said Lavenza. Her yellow eyes sparkled with mischief. “I’ve never tried it on a mortal before. Perhaps the chainsaw?”

Without any apparent effort from Lavenza, a familiar barred door appeared out of thin air. Ren went in, with Morgana and the Akechis following. They all ended up crammed into the tiny cell that Ren remembered so well. Lavenza somehow made her way to the door without seeming to push at all and opened the locked cell door.

Igor’s desk, at the center of the prison, was empty. The electric chair, guillotine, and chainsaw, however, were all still lying around.

“Is this what the inside of your mind looks like?” said Crow disapprovingly, hand on his hip. “You really have no sense of style whatsoever.”

“We usually adjust the Velvet Room to the visitor,” said Lavenza. “But in this case there was a different architect. Now, then….”

The small, ethereal girl walked delicately over to the chainsaw and hoisted it as if testing its weight. She peered over at the Akechis appraisingly.

“Hmm,” she said. “I think this isn’t the right tool for the job.”

The Akechis both let out the breath they’d been holding.

Lavenza tilted her head toward Ren. “May I see that?”

She was looking at the star in Ren’s hand. He gave it to her. She held it up to her ear and there was a faint _vroom_ sound, like a small engine.

“I see,” said Lavenza. “You wished for this to happen. To reverse the effect, reverse your desire.”

Goro sighed. “You make it sound straightforward, but it’s hardly so simple.”

“You can’t get rid of me,” growled Crow. “No matter how much you pretend, I’ll always be here in your subconscious.”

Lavenza blinked uncomprehendingly.

_She can’t help with this_ , thought Ren. A supernatural power had created this situation, but more importantly, Akechi’s own heart -- always divided -- had torn itself apart. That had to be the key. Ren had one last card to play, and after that it was entirely up to Akechi.

“Listen to me,” said Ren, appealing to the Akechi he’d taken to a tarot reading in the waking world. “I get that you’re happy right now, but you can’t just break yourself apart and expect people to be okay with that. I don’t want _half_ of you. I want _all_ of you, no matter what you think of those other parts.”

Goro blinked rapidly. Amamiya had been extra flirty lately, but this sounded like an actual confession. It didn’t bother him when girls confessed -- he’d never had much interest, so he brushed them off and moved on. But this? What was this? Why was his heart pounding so hard? He felt a blush creeping up his collar.

“You...you can’t do this,” said Goro quietly. _Can’t flip the script from rivals to lovers. Can’t fall for a boy. Can’t forgive someone who tried to kill you. Can’t love someone like me…._

While these thoughts were swirling in Goro’s head, Amamiya took his hand and said tenderly, “I can. And I do.”

Crow whistled. “Just coming right out with it, huh, Amamiya? You must really be desperate. Well, I can’t blame you. I _am_ quite a snack.”

“And you,” Ren went on, taking a sharper tone as he spoke to Crow. “Talk about helpless. You’re never going to beat me if you can’t even get ahold of yourself. I might as well give this back.”

Ren pulled the black glove out of his pocket and held it up in front of the Akechis. Both of them stared at it. Crow glared at it with open hostility, furious at the challenge to his pride. Goro’s mouth fell open a little, stunned that Ren had kept it so long. The blush spread to his cheeks. Ren’s words rang in his ears: _I don’t want half of you. I want all of you._

Crow thought, _I can’t let him win._

At the same time, Goro thought, _I can’t let him go_.

And the decision was made.

Lavenza held up the star. Crow took it and reached out to Goro. They held the star together, their hearts beating in unison.

There was a warm glow that brightened to a glare, forcing Ren and Morgana to shield their eyes. When they looked back, there was only one Goro Akechi holding the star. He put it in his pocket, his face blank, then walked over to Ren, getting almost uncomfortably close. 

“You said you were going to steal my heart,” he said. Then he smirked. “It seems I stole yours instead.”

He leaned in a little and kissed Ren lightly on the lips. Ren’s dark eyes fluttered closed. He put his arms around Goro’s shoulders and returned the kiss with interest. After a few moments, Goro slipped his arms around Ren’s waist and held him close, taking in his scent and the feel of his clothes. He knew he’d have to wake up from this dream eventually, but not yet. _Not yet._

* * *

After a little while, Goro moved his head to rest on Ren’s shoulder. Ren mirrored the motion, resting his chin on Goro’s shoulder, thinking of all the times they’d each cheated death to come together at this moment. He hoped Goro felt as contented as he did right now.

Then Goro started to slump. Ren’s eyes flew open in surprise and he quickly kneeled to let him down to the ground gently. His pulse was strong, but his eyes were closed and his muscles were relaxed.

_What the hell?_ Ren looked up in confusion. Morgana was watching the two of them with literal cartoon hearts in his eyes. Ren blushed a little. Usually Morgana knew when to give Ren some privacy. But of course, in the Velvet Room there was no place else to go.

“He is asleep,” said Lavenza, in answer to Ren’s unasked question.

“Nyahaha! Doesn’t say much for your kissing skills,” Morgana laughed.

Ren frowned and poked Morgana at the top of his oversized head, sending him reeling backwards, arms pinwheeling -- though, true to his cat nature, he caught himself before he fell over.

“He requires a deeper level of unconsciousness,” said Lavenza. “His mind will be quite safe here, but you may wish to take his body back where it belongs rather than leaving it in the Metaverse unattended. The shadows are restless tonight.”

She pointed, and Ren looked to see that there was a door where he was sure there had been no door before.

“Guess I’d better go back home then,” said Ren, scratching his head.

“Let’s hope we end up back in your bedroom and not Akechi’s,” Morgana added. “Unless you want to explain that to Niijima-san.”

“And my folks,” added Ren, shuddering. _You idiot,_ he scolded himself. _You have one year to go until you’re an adult. Try to stay out of trouble!_

But he already knew he wasn’t going to take the easy way. Not when the hard way had adventure, romance, heroics and fun. What did his hometown have to compare to all that?

* * *

Sae was watching the evening news when she got a call from the prosecutor’s office. Triumphantly, the man on the phone announced that he had caught Goro in the act of disappearing -- the GPS signal was, this very second, completely lost. Vanished. Gone.

“That’s ridiculous,” said Sae impatiently. “I saw him go into his bedroom just an hour ago. Let me check.”

She went over to Goro’s bedroom door and knocked, calling his name. There was no response. She knocked louder; still nothing.

“I’m going to have to call you back,” she said into the phone. Then, without waiting for a response, she hung up and tried the doorknob. The door was locked from the inside. Reminding herself she was only checking out of concern, Sae fished the key out of the junk drawer and opened the door a crack.

The room was dark inside. It was unclear whether Goro was there or not. She took a step inside. “Goro-kun?” she called. She switched on the light and saw that the room was empty. The bedclothes were rumpled as if they’d been used recently, so he had been here. But the windows were closed and latched; he couldn’t have gone out that way. Nor could he have slipped out the front door without going past Sae.

A light on the headboard of the bed caught her attention -- his phone? She started toward it, hoping it would give some clue to his whereabouts, assuming she could even unlock it….

In the next instant, three things happened: Sae picked up the phone, the room went dark, and her night got very weird.


	9. You Do Something To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sae accidentally enters the Metaverse looking for Goro -- and finds her own Persona

At first, Sae thought the power had gone out. She looked out the window to see if it was just her building and saw everything was dark outside. That was highly unusual; the only time she’d seen a widespread blackout in Tokyo was during an actual emergency, like a tsunami or a power plant meltdown. She shook her head. No point wasting time on speculating.

She tried turning on her phone to see if there was any breaking news, but none of her usual apps would open, not even the telephone dialer itself. She decided the next logical step would be to try contacting her neighbors. She left her apartment and started knocking on doors, banging and yelling loudly to no response.

A chill ran through her. This was utterly bizarre. It _looked_ like her home, but the sounds, the smells -- or lack thereof -- the general _emptiness_ of the place were all wrong. Instinctively quieting her footsteps, she headed toward the elevator. Surely there would be someone on the street who could tell her what was going on. Or, failing that, direct her to a mental health facility.

A door creaked open behind her. _Oh, thank god,_ she thought, and whirled around. But what came out of the door wasn’t a person. It looked more like a plucked chicken with an onion for a head. Other doors started to open all along the hallway and other things emerged -- an angry-looking purple horse with horns like a ram, a green-skinned woman in a flowing red dress, a mobile lump of what looked like slime -- Sae backed toward the elevator and started mashing the button.

Just as it occurred to her that the elevator wouldn’t be working in a blackout, the door opened with the familiar ding. Sae leapt into the elevator and slammed the close door button. There seemed only one sensible place to go now, so she hit the ground floor button, shrinking back to put even a few inches of space between her and whatever the hell was out there.

Sae wasn’t a particularly artistic type, but she found herself envisioning the elevator’s descent as a drop into the underworld -- like Izanagi descending to find Izanami. _After all,_ she thought nervously, _Who’s to say what I find out there will be better than what I left upstairs?_

When the elevator reached the ground floor, Sae peeked quickly outside before stepping out. The building foyer was empty. Stepping cautiously out into the street, she saw the strangest thing yet: Ren-kun and Goro-kun both standing in the middle of the street, motionless. Not that they were in any immediate danger -- there was no traffic, not even any pedestrians.

Keeping an eye on her surroundings, she approached the boys. Getting closer, she could see that they were both staring dazedly into space. She waved a hand in front of them. Nothing. At their feet was something that looked like a cat-shaped garden statue. How that figured in, she couldn’t begin to guess.

“What is _wrong_ with this place?” she murmured.

As if in answer to her question, she heard the distinct rhythmic thumping of soldiers marching. She couldn’t see far into the gloom down the street, so she concentrated on the sound. At least dozens, coming closer.

She tried putting her arm around Goro’s shoulders and pushing, but his feet stayed rooted stubbornly to the ground. She thought perhaps she could pick him up, but where could she take him? And what about Ren? She looked around for anything she could use, but the street was frustratingly empty.

The soldiers had gotten closer. Now Sae could see that her guess was correct -- there was a smartly formed platoon wearing what looked like Japan Self-Defense Forces dress uniforms and carrying rifles. She could also see that they were headed by someone standing majestically on top of a tank, arms akimbo, wearing some sort of extravagant military dress uniform. She moved a little bit forward, in spite of her fear, wanting to know who it was.

It was Masayoshi Shido.

Not normally given to panic, Sae shrieked a little and stumbled backwards.

“Hey, hey. Shh,” said a familiar voice.

She whirled around to see Ren was alert, no longer staring into space.

“Ren-kun! _It’s him!_ Shido is here!”

Ren responded with a word she’d never heard come out of his mouth before, but she could hardly blame him. She was thinking the same thing.

“This is bad,” said a voice from somewhere near Sae’s feet. “It took all of us to defeat Shido last time, and he didn’t have fifty soldiers to throw at us then.”

Sae looked down and saw that the garden statue had come to life. _At least it’s on our side,_ she thought wearily. She was beginning to understand how Goro and the Phantom Thieves had learned to roll with things so easily.

“Take Goro-kun,” Sae said to Ren. “Get him out of here.”

Ren looked over at Goro and cocked his head to one side. “Whoa. Is that what I look like when I go into the Velvet Room?”

“Yup,” said the cat. “We all thought you were just spacing out.”

Sae grabbed Ren’s arm. “You can carry him. Take him and run. I’ll stall them, then follow.”

Ren looked back at the soldiers, estimating their numbers and strength. “No, not a chance. You can’t hold off those things. Morgana, you stay here while I go see what he wants.”

Somehow managing to look skeptical, the cat said, “You think he wants to thank us and buy us ice cream?”

Ignoring him, Ren took off at a sprint and ran toward the tank. “Masayoshi Shido!” he called when he was within earshot. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

Shido -- or something that looked just like him -- smiled cruelly. “What I’ve always wanted, boy. For the enemies of this great nation to be utterly destroyed. Tell me: are you with Japan or against us?”

“I’m with Japan and against you. You don’t represent this country and you _definitely_ don’t represent me!” Ren shouted furiously. He knew he shouldn’t let this cognition or whatever it was goad him, but it was utterly disgusting to see Shido conflate himself with the country.

Shido looked untroubled by this defiance. “Fine, fine. My Patriot Corps needs some practice anyway. Go, my champions!”

With that, the soldiers surged forward. Ren took out a couple of them with his daggers, mainly to get some breathing room. He had no idea what to do about Sae and Goro, but he wouldn’t be able to do anything if he was dead.

He glanced back at Sae to see how she was doing. She had thrown a couple of the soldiers aside using some aikido technique, but there were more coming. One attacked Akechi, knocking him flat on his back.

Sae, with an expression of pure fury, slugged the soldier square in the face. It was a solid punch that would have left a human eating his teeth. Unfortunately, though she couldn’t have known, you needed a Persona to do real damage in the Metaverse. The Shadow, hardly phased, countered with a body slam that knocked her to the pavement.

Ren grimaced, but his resolve was bolstered. He summoned Yoshitsune and unleashed Hassou Tobi. The spectral blades whirled, slicing through the soldiers like they were no more substantial than air. Hassou Tobi always took a lot out of him, but Ren noted with satisfaction that he had taken an even larger chunk out of the enemy force -- maybe a dozen in one shot. So they weren’t terribly strong, but still...there were a lot of them.

In response, Shido picked up a bullhorn and started shouting into it. “There is no need for thieves in our mighty country! Join me, citizens! Crush these traitors!”

To Ren’s horror, some Shadows that had been on the sidewalk -- he hadn’t even noticed they were there -- peeled away and joined the soldiers. Similar to the way Ren’s clothes changed to the Phantom Thief outfit, they transformed from monochromatic Shadows into soldiers.

_Oh crap,_ thought Ren. _What god or demon did I piss off_ this _time?_

* * *

Sae sat up and rubbed her head, which had hit hard on the concrete. Nearby, the cat summoned some sort of creature -- it must be his Persona, if she understood her case files correctly -- to cast a wind attack that pushed back the nearest soldiers. 

Then Ren unleashed a spectacular sword attack using his own Persona, wiping out at least a quarter of the enemy forces. _That’s the kid who ran circles around the SIU, Masayoshi Shido, Goro Akechi, and me,_ she thought _._ It was the most understandable thing she’d seen since she came to this surreal place.

Clear of enemies for the moment, she looked down next to her; Goro was still lying where he’d landed, unblinking eyes staring eerily up at the sky. Her heart stopped for a second, but she could see that he was still breathing. _I couldn’t help him with Shido. I can’t protect him now. I’m putting everything on a couple of kids -- again!_

Thoughts scattered by anger and frustration, the only thing Sae knew for sure was that she wanted to do _something_ to help the situation. Take action. Not be a bystander in her own life. She reached out for Goro, though she didn’t know if she intended to comfort him or the other way around.

As their hands touched, some mysterious power flowed through from Goro to Sae, sparking like electricity. She had an uncanny certainty that somewhere, a butterfly was bursting from its chrysalis and soaring. Then she was seized with crushing pain and her mind went blank.

“Well, well,” said a regal voice, seeming to come from all around. “Are you prepared at last to stop blaming the stars and make your own destiny?”

Sae held her head in her hands, groaning in pain as power coursed through her and a mask formed over her eyes.

The mask felt like safety and belonging. She could keep it on, stay hidden, blend in with the Shadow soldiers. She hadn’t noticed before, but they were all wearing masks too. They wouldn’t bother her if she were like them.

The thought made her feel ill.

Through clenched teeth, Sae hissed, “The boundaries of my life are not for others to decide. I’m done passively accepting whatever gets dumped on me.”

There was a cackling laugh, then the voice said, “I am thou, thou art I…together we shall defend the weak...humble the strong...and scour the earth with the light of judgement!”

Sae ripped off the mask. The pain was intense at first, but faded as she beheld her Persona. As if remembering something she’d forgotten, Sae knew this was Morrigan, the Phantom Queen. Her other self, the part of her spirit that refused to bow to injustice.

The Phantom Queen was regal and terrifying, with wild red hair and huge black bird wings. In one hand she held a scepter and in the other a battle axe. At Sae’s command, Morrigan held her scepter high and lightning arced down upon the Shadows, instantly obliterating almost all of those remaining.

The battle was all but won. Ren and Morgana turned to stare at Sae in awe. She smiled, but her strength was already starting to fade. She wobbled on her feet a little.

“I’d hoped to avoid using the big gun,” Shido called with his bullhorn. “But you’ve left me no choice!”

The tank started making an ominous grinding noise as the turret moved slowly to point at them. As it readied its attack, an eager smile spread across Shido’s face.

* * *

Takuto Maruki crunched Jagarikos compulsively as he watched the battle unfold on his monitors. _If Akechi wakes up, there will be four of them...is that enough to defeat Shido and his army and his tank, I wonder?_

He didn’t find out. It only took a split-second for Ren to decide on running. Ren tossed Akechi over his shoulder and sprinted towards the nearby apartment building. Sae Niijima followed and the cat brought up the rear, keeping an eye on the tank.

They were fortunate that it took the big gun so long to change direction; otherwise they wouldn’t have made it inside. The explosive shell destroyed the front of the building -- but in true Phantom Thieves fashion, they had already disappeared.

Maruki watched Ren and the others make their way back up to Niijima’s apartment and then disappear, presumably back to the real world. He’d gotten more pieces of the puzzle, but they were still jumbled up.

In his notebook, he wrote:

**How...**

  * Did Akechi fix his dissociation? Could the technique/artifact/power be used by others?
  * Did Sae Niijima summon a Persona after touching Akechi? Is it related to his ability to “unchain hearts,” as he puts it?



**Why…**

  * Are the psychotic breakdown and mental shutdown cases happening again, if Akechi isn’t involved? Could they be spontaneous?



**What…**

  * Happened when Amamiya held the star? Something on another plane of reality? Perhaps some kind of internal, mental effect?
  * Is the nature of the Shido figure in the Metaverse?
  * Are those soldiers and how does Shido summon more?



He sighed. Intriguing questions all, but only the first was truly important. _How did Akechi fix his dissociation, and would it work on other people?_

Taking his notebook with him, Maruki exited through the heavy security door and walked down the hall to a set of swinging double doors. Pushing through, he entered the mental shutdown ward and began to “do the rounds” as he thought of it.

It wasn’t much like doing rounds in the waking world, though. There was no point in reviewing medical charts or looking at vitals. These patients didn’t have vital signs in the Metaverse, though they were still alive in the waking world. Every one of them had the same problem: mental shutdown.

No changes, as usual. He didn’t know how long his patients could hold out waiting for a cure.

Maruki added two questions to the list in his notebook:

_Can Akechi help me? And if so, will he?_

* * *

Back in the Metaverse version of Sae’s apartment, Ren laid Goro down on his bed while Sae sank into the desk chair. Goro’s eyes were still disconcertingly open and glassy. Ren tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and Goro blinked, seemed to see him for a fraction of a second, then sighed and closed his eyes as if drifting back to sleep. Taking a quick peek at Sae to be sure she wasn’t watching, Ren kissed his forehead.

Then he got to work, using Goro’s finger to unlock his phone. Ren stared for a second at the Metaverse Navigator, wondering if it was back on his phone too. In any case, using Goro’s phone seemed like the best bet, since it was the device that had brought them all here. Holding his breath, Ren tapped the exit button.

Instantly, Ren found himself back in his own room with Morgana. He let out his breath in a whoosh.

“Glad that worked out,” said Morgana. “We’ve never tried long-distance Metaverse navigation before, have we?”

“Nope,” said Ren. A sly smile spread across his face. “Hey, that means I can meet Goro in the Metaverse. No train necessary.”

“With everything we saw tonight, _that’s_ what you’re focused on?!”

Ren shrugged in a sorry-not-sorry way, still grinning.

Morgana began cleaning his paws, then said coolly, “You know, if all this is tied to Akechi, maybe _he’ll_ be the one putting the team together this time.”

Ren chewed that over. “He’ll want to blame this all on Shido...but that thing wasn’t a Shadow, was it?”

“No, I don’t think so. I think it was a cognition.”

“But that would mean...that’s how the public sees Shido right now,” said Ren, suddenly disturbed. “They still see him as a leader. Even a savior.”

Morgana made a hairball-hacking sound to indicate his displeasure. “Then we’ll just have to show them the truth again, won’t we?”

Ren nodded, but deep down, he wasn’t convinced that the truth would be enough.

* * *

Goro wasn’t sure how long he spent holding Ren before slipping into deeper unconsciousness. Ren drifted away, replaced by other sensations -- good and bad memories that had imprinted themselves on his mind -- while Goro’s sense of self merely floated, experiencing it all.

It occurred to him that it would be easy to lose himself in this place. He could choose a memory and cling to it, remaining happy or angry or sad forever. Or he could let his consciousness go and drift apart like a bucket of water tossed into the ocean.

He didn’t want to do that, though. He wanted his mind to finish knitting itself together so he could go home. There were things he wanted to do. People he wanted to see. He wasn’t done.

The more he concentrated on his desire to live, the more the infinite space around him thickened and began to form a more concrete space. The blackness merged into a deep marine blue and the emptiness into a velvety softness.

Eventually Goro found himself in a profoundly blue room. There was a plush blue carpet and the walls were so blue that it was hard to tell how far away they were. There were also a number of what seemed to be boxes -- moving boxes? -- lying around in stacks.

More immediately, there was a little boy with yellow eyes examining him.

“He’s okay!” said the boy.

There was another child, a girl -- Lavenza, Goro recalled -- making notes in a book. That reminded him of Maruki for some reason. He shook his head to clear it.

“Jose,” said the girl with a lightly scolding tone, “You nearly killed our visitor. You should apologize.”

“I’m sorry, mister,” said Jose earnestly. “I didn’t know it was a bad wish.”

“What are you talking about?” said Goro, still feeling fuzzy.

“The wish you made on my star,” said Jose, pointing at Goro’s pocket.

Goro took the star out of his pocket and held it in his hands. The weight and warmth of it brought back a memory of lying cold and bloodied in a gutter outside the Diet building. He concentrated on the memory and...yes, he had seen this boy before. The memory was fragmented, but he recalled that much.

“It wasn’t a bad wish,” Lavenza corrected. “Only...dangerous. Taking apart a mortal’s cognition and putting it back together is a complicated endeavor.”

“I wished to have my cognition taken apart…?” said Goro, trying to remember. He remembered looking up at the stars and the sound of an ambulance.

“Not exactly,” said Jose. “My stars are...hm, how can I explain?” He looked up at Lavenza.

“They’re a tool Jose made to help him understand human desire. When a desire is strongly felt, even if not clearly understood, the star makes it concrete. Visible. Consequential.”

“I see. My desire….” Goro reached back farther, back to the engine room in Shido’s palace. “I wanted to be like Amamiya -- free of my past. I wanted to kill the parts of myself that are hateful. I wanted a fresh start.”

“Right!” said Jose. “That’s what the star did!”

“The star couldn’t have killed part of you,” Lavenza added. “That would have mangled your psyche beyond recovery. Instead, it separated out the unwanted parts and left them in the Metaverse.”

“You stuffed all the things I wanted to forget in my unconscious?” Goro snorted. “No wonder that other me was so pissed off.”

“Your friends used their wishes to strengthen the bonds between one another,” said Lavenza. “You could do the same, if you chose.”

“Every time someone makes a wish on one of my stars, I get closer to understanding humans,” said Jose. “Wish lots!”

The boy’s enthusiasm for his little project was charming, but Goro couldn’t help feeling unsettled. He didn’t need to ask why Jose hadn’t furnished a star to everyone on earth; just imagining someone like Shido with one of these things sent shivers down his spine. He changed the subject.

“This is the Velvet Room...isn’t it? But it doesn’t look like it did before.”

“It will be your Velvet Room soon,” said Lavenza. “You may stay if you like, or return to the waking world through that door.”

She pointed behind him. Goro turned around and saw that there was, indeed, a door there. He didn’t need to think about it. He stood up and went through.


	10. Day And Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro gets in a fight with Shiho Suzui; Makoto investigates the mental shutdown cases and finds they lead her straight to Dr. Maruki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: I’m back! It’s been a tough ~~few months~~ year. ‘Nuff said?

Goro woke up after three days unconscious, feeling thirsty but otherwise fine. Sae drilled him relentlessly about how he was feeling until he made it very clear he was okay.

“Good!” she said, smiling with relief. “Then you can get right to work on what you missed in school.”

She set a stack of school work in front of him. He looked at it warily. It wasn’t that he disliked studying particularly, but his mind was firmly on other things. “Sae, I have a ton of questions….”

“About literature or math?”

“Um…. Now that I think of it, I _am_ still a little tired…” he said, hoping to go back to his room where he could call Ren.

“I’ll make coffee,” said Sae brightly.

Goro considered whether he had the mental acuity to talk Sae out of this, then sighed and got to work.

Later on, after dinner, they called up Ren to discuss what had happened in the Metaverse. 

Before Goro could tell him he was on speaker phone, Ren demanded, “Where have you been? I’ve been texting all day!”

“I missed three days of school. I’ve been catching up,” said Goro.

“Are you kidding? With everything that happened --”

“How’s _your_ schoolwork going, Ren-kun?” said Sae sweetly.

They could hear an audible gulp over the phone. “Good?” he said.

“I’m glad to hear you’re keeping your grades up,” said Sae, her tone indicating that there might be trouble in Ren’s future if she found out otherwise.

Goro stifled a laugh. “Anyway...we haven’t had a chance to talk about what happened in the Metaverse after we went in the Velvet Room. What happened? How did I get back home?”

“One moment,” said Sae. “Velvet Room?”

Goro and Ren explained that the Velvet Room was some kind of mental space they could both enter, which was why they both appeared to be catatonic when Sae found them.

“I’d like to hear about your experience with it, Amamiya,” said Goro. “What can I expect?”

“I don’t think I had the typical experience, if there is such a thing,” said Ren. “But it was a place where I could hone my Personas, mainly. Igor and Lavenza are there to help you learn more about using and growing your power.”

“Sounds like a good deal to me,” said Goro. _Maybe I have a chance to be the hero after all,_ he thought, though he was careful not to get his hopes up. “So what happened while I was unconscious?”

As Ren, Sae and Morgana filled him in about the battle with Shido and Sae’s newborn Persona, Goro’s jaw dropped lower and lower.

“You have a Persona?” he asked Sae. “I didn’t even know adults _could_ have them.”

“So it would seem,” she said. “I felt something when I touched your hand. Like a shock of electricity.”

“That didn’t happen with anybody else that I know of,” said Ren. “Their Personas appeared when they were pushed to the edge. Mine showed up when I saw Kamoshida’s Shadow attack Ryuji. I felt like I had to stop him. Like there was no way I could stand by and do nothing.”

“That’s how I felt too, when I saw the Shadows attack Goro,” said Sae.

“Still, if you had to touch me…” Goro hesitated. “That’s how I caused psychotic breakdowns in the Metaverse before. I had to find a person’s Shadow and touch it physically.”

“You did say you were unchaining hearts,” Morgana pointed out. “And that same power affected you differently than it did Shadows.”

“It affected regular people differently still,” said Goro, following Morgana’s logic. Perhaps his unique ability didn’t have to end in psychosis after all.

“Does that mean I’m not ‘regular people’?” asked Sae with a smile. Goro smiled back at her.

Ren said, “When I became good friends with someone, it was like their strength was added to mine. Maybe it’s the other way around for Goro: he makes _them_ stronger.”

“Who said you could call me by my first name?” said Goro casually.

Ren made some flustered burbling sounds.

Goro smiled with amused satisfaction; he was curious whether Ren would blurt out their relationship status or try to hide it from Sae, and it was a rare opportunity to put him on the spot. _Check_ , he thought.

He chuckled and said, “I’m kidding, of course. We’re friends, aren’t we? Anyway, from my observations, some people simply have stronger wills than others. That may be the difference between a person who creates a Shadow, one who creates a Persona, and one who walks naked into Wild Duck Burger.”

“We think the Shido we saw was a cognition, not a Shadow,” put in Ren. “The real Shido may not even be aware of how other people conceive of him.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Masayoshi Shido I know,” said Goro darkly. “More likely he _does_ know and this is some kind of power play. I wonder if I can talk to him. Could you arrange a meeting, Sae?”

“If I had to,” she said reluctantly. “Will that really help?”

“He might lie, of course, but I think we need to know whether he’s part of all this or just a bystander.”

“Or worse, something the public wished into existence,” said Morgana.

The others contemplated this idea gloomily.

They chatted a bit longer, then Sae wished Ren a good night and went to watch the news. Morgana announced loudly that he had things to do in another room. Goro took the phone into his bedroom and set it on the headboard. He and Ren were alone now.

“How are you feeling?” said Ren. “Now that you have your memories back, I mean.”

“They’re still kind of filtering back in,” said Goro. “I saw a video of Shido on TV today and as soon as I heard his voice, it was like I was back there….”

“Like a PTSD flashback?”

“Aha ha, nothing so dramatic. I was surprised at first, but then...I remembered that there were things I liked about working for him.”

Ren was silent. Goro scowled, suddenly feeling judged.

“I mean, I always hated him,” Goro went on. “But I had to respect him, too. He had the whole country eating out of his hand, including a whole network of elites. If you were part of his circle, you were elite too. I guess I got used to that feeling.”

“I get it,” said Ren. “When the Phantom Thieves were popular, I felt like I was on top of the world. Coming down from that was like falling off a cliff. I was lucky to have my friends. I think I would’ve given up without them.”

“Your friends weren’t ready to kill you when you stopped being useful to them. I had no choice but to keep up appearances. That was when I came into Le Blanc a lot, remember?”

“Yeah,” said Ren. “Did kicking my ass at chess make you feel any better?”

“As a matter of fact, it did,” said Goro, chuckling.

“Send me a selfie,” said Ren. “I want one of you smiling.”

Goro switched to selfie mode and took a picture of himself with a confident smirk. “Now you,” he said as he sent it.

Ren sent a picture of himself running his hand through his hair, lips pouted, eyes smoldering.

“Is that supposed to impress me?” said Goro coolly, as he downloaded the photo and made it his phone’s background.

“That’s just my opening move. It’s your turn now,” said Ren.

“You’re on. Just you wait.”

* * *

Returning to school after his “illness,” Goro waited at the gates for Suzui, who waved at him energetically as she approached. “Are you feeling better?” she asked. “Your homeroom teacher said you were sick.”

He nodded. “Yes, thanks. I’m feeling better now.”

“It so happens I am too,” she said cheerfully. She had kept her backpack on today, he noticed. “See? Getting stronger every day.”

“You won’t need me at all soon, huh?”

“Don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily. While you were gone, the other girls and I got talking and they...kind of talked me into something.”

“Oh?” Goro looked at her. She was fairly glowing with happiness.

“I want to form a volleyball team here! What do you think? I was hoping you would help.”

He narrowed his eyes. Suzui still tired easily, leaned on him going up stairs, and had even fainted twice during her classes. Bright as she was acting now, he didn’t think she’d look so good by the end of the day.

“I don’t know. What does your doctor say?”

“She says it’s fine if I think it is. And I do. I’m ready. I mean, all those prayers and paper cranes must be good for something,” she added with a laugh.

“That’s not medicine, Suzui. Of course people are going to tell you you’ll be fine. It’s not like they want to think you’ll be disabled for life.”

She laughed again, but it sounded forced. “I’m not disabled. I’m getting better.”

Perhaps it was because he’d reabsorbed the more cynical part of himself, but he found the denial of her situation intensely annoying. It was like she was playing a trick on herself.

“Sure, but be realistic,” he said. You can’t form, captain, and coach a sports team. You can’t even walk up a flight of stairs by yourself. It’s too much.”

“Nobody else says it’s too much. All my other friends believe in me,” she said, now scowling. “Maybe you’re just jealous!”

“What?” he said, surprised and angered at her accusation.

“Yeah. You’re upset because I’m getting better and I won’t need you around.” She was angry now, convincing herself the more she talked.

“That was just a joke!” he huffed. “Anyway, it looks like you don’t need me already. You’re living in a dream world.”

“Fine! Maybe I’ll see you around!”

“Fine!”

They parted ways unhappily.

_She doesn’t need me anymore. Good. I don’t need her either. Our deal is done. That’s exactly how things should be_ , thought Goro firmly.

But he had trouble concentrating the rest of the day.

* * *

After school, Sae was waiting for him at the gates.

“Good news,” she said, when they were clear of the crowd of students. “The prosecutor’s office has dropped all charges against you. Let’s go get that ankle bracelet off you and get my car back.”

“I’m not going to miss dragging that thing around,” said Goro. “Still, I haven’t given up on testifying against Shido.”

“I know, but let’s take it one step at a time. I asked if they would consider a confession in lieu of physical evidence. They said no.”

“Since when does the prosecutor’s office not love a good confession? That’s preposterous.” An image flashed into his mind of saying the same thing to Ren, back in January. His stomach twisted.

“Exactly my thought. I can come to only one conclusion.”

“Masayoshi Shido is pulling strings for me,” said Goro slowly. There was one other possibility he could think of. It could be that Maruki wasn’t as reformed as he said he was. But he had no evidence that Maruki was involved and Shido was the better lead, so he set aside the thought.

“Yes. It’s the only reason I can think of that they’d go so far as to lose evidence and reject a confession,” said Sae. “You know Shido better than I do. Do you have any idea why he might be doing this?”

Goro shook his head. “Last I heard, he was planning to kill me to tie up loose ends.”

“That’s not really a consideration anymore, though.”

“Not for Shido himself,” said Goro thoughtfully. “But he did have a lot of associates. People who, er, requested my services.”

“People who might also consider you a loose end,” said Sae.

“Right. I kept a list, but that would be on my missing laptop.”

They were silent for a few moments, focused on making their way through the crowded subway platform. Sae stewed over the problem before her. Could there be a way to reveal Shido’s Metaverse crimes without implicating Goro in them? If not, was she ethically bound to protect her client against even his own wishes? And what about the danger posed by these “associates”?

“Sae?” said Goro after a while. “When you get your car back, can we take a quick trip to the Imperial Palace? Maybe just as the sun is setting?”

Jarred out of her thoughts, she said distractedly, “I suppose. Why?”

“I want to take a selfie there,” he said with a grin.

* * *

When Goro got to Crossroads for his usual shift, Lala greeted him with a pout. “You didn’t come to work yesterday. Didn’t you think of poor Lala-chan, washing dishes all by herself with these nails? That’s a crime against fabulousness.”

She fanned out her fingers so Goro could admire her manicure -- they were painted like little watermelons, striped green on top and red with black dots on the bottom.

“I’m very sorry, Lala-san,” he said, playing along. “Of course I wouldn’t want any harm to befall your nails.”

“I knew you’d feel that way, sweetie. That’s why I left the dishes for you.” Lala fluttered her eyelashes at him.

He turned and saw a huge pile of glasses in the sink. The fragile dishes suddenly reminded him of Suzui. His whole body slumped as the memory of the fight with her came rushing back.

Ichiko Ohya, sitting in her usual spot at the bar, said, “Lala-chan, look what you did! You broke his soul, poor thing.”

“His soul was like that when he got here!” Lala protested.

“No it wasn’t. You broke it, you bought it,” Ohya argued.

Lala made a “zip it” gesture at her and led Goro away, out of Ohya’s earshot. “Seriously, honey, what’s the matter?”

Goro sighed. “It’s nothing big. I’m sorry to be so melodramatic.”

“I should hope so. You know drama makes me want to set my wig on fire,” Lala deadpanned.

Goro had to press his lips together to hold in a smile. “Okay. I had a fight with Suzui.”

“That sweet girl you carry the books for? What about?”

“She thinks she’s going to start a volleyball team. She can’t do that.”

“It’s not my idea of a good time, but to each her own,” said Lala, shrugging.

“She’s still too weak. She can’t handle the amount of exertion she already has, much less running a sports team. And then she had the nerve to say I’m mad because she’s getting better. That’s ridiculous!”

Lala frowned, which disconcerted Goro. His case was logical and built on firsthand observation. He was sure any responsible adult would agree with him.

“What exactly did you say to her?” said Lala suspiciously.

“I told her she can’t captain a volleyball team if she can’t even walk upstairs without help.”

Lala covered her face in secondhand embarrassment. “You _didn’t._ Oh no. Well, let’s just skip over the part where you channeled the mean girl in a high school movie. Did she say she didn’t want help?”

“That’s not the point! She’s going to get herself hurt! I was just telling her the truth,” Goro snapped defensively, crossing his arms.

“From your point of view, sure. Did it occur to you that she might not think of herself as some pitiful little waif who can’t do anything on her own?” Lala was now fanning herself sternly.

“Come on. That’s not how I see her. I just...forgot myself,” he muttered. “I’ll apologize. Bring her some flowers or something. It’ll be alright.”

“Mmmm,” said Lala disapprovingly.

“What now?” sighed Goro.

“You really care about this girl, yes? Well, now’s the time to go beyond the superficial. Talk to her. _Listen to her._ Don’t pull away. Pull _towards_.” Lala opened her arms as if to hug him, then pulled her hands to her chest in illustration.

Goro nodded reluctantly. Lala was right -- his instinct was always to distance himself when things got intense. Even with Ren, who drew him so magnetically.

“Alright. I’ll try. Thanks, Lala-san.”

“Don’t mention it, honey. Sending love out into the world is its own reward.” Lala let that sit for a beat, then tapped him on the nose with one of her new nails. “Now then. Those dishes aren’t going to wash themselves.”

* * *

On the way home after his shift, Goro thought about texting Ren. But they’d already spoken on the phone and texted a few times during the day...was it too much? Would it make him look clingy?

_You_ are _being clingy, idiot,_ he thought. He still wanted to hear from Ren, though.

Lala’s words echoed in his mind, almost like she was there to contradict him. “Don’t pull away. Pull towards,” said his Cognitive Lala.

He wasn’t the type to get all mushy, so his message was simple: _Goodnight._

Ren texted back, _Sweet dreams._

Goro smiled.

* * *

Makoto stopped her motorcycle a short way up the street from a little-used fire door. The door was propped open with a cinderblock, presumably for the convenience of the nurse who was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette.

She hopped off the bike and slipped toward the door as quietly as she could. Luckily for her, the night was dark and overcast. The yellow light from a single bulb cast a distinct pool of light around the door; everything else was deeply shadowed.

All her research into the mental shutdown cases led her here: St. Luke’s International Hospital. She’d noticed a pattern: when it was mentioned what hospital the victims had been taken to, it was always St. Luke’s. Digging deeper, she found that _all_ of the victims were being treated here. Doing a little light undercover work (as a confused high schooler trying to find her aunt’s room), she asked around the hospital and found that a “research ward” had been opened but that almost no one had seen it.

From there, it was child’s play to come up with a plan to get inside. Well, if children staked out back alleys with binoculars and convenience store coffee.

The nurse finished his cigarette and stamped out the butt, then moved the cinderblock aside -- he was quite muscular and picked it up in one hand like it was nothing -- and went inside.

As the fire door swung shut, Makoto darted out from the shadows and grabbed it. Unfortunately, the nurse was wearing soft-soled shoes and she couldn’t hear him move down the corridor. She forced herself to count to 60 so he had time to move away before she entered.

The door made a loud clunking sound as it closed and locked automatically behind her. Straight ahead was a corridor with a closed door at the end. Immediately to her left, she could see a stairwell.

Makoto focused on keeping her footsteps light as she descended the stairs. As she reached the bottom, her attention was caught by the door in front of her: it too was propped open, this time with a lighter. She grinned. _Sometimes it’s just too easy,_ she thought.

Then she paused.

_Too easy._

She turned and started to run back up the stairs, but she was a second too slow. A pair of heavy hands grabbed her wrists and twisted her arms behind her.

From over her shoulder a low, husky voice said, “Tsk tsk tsk. Just because a door’s open doesn’t mean you have to walk through it.”

The burly nurse started dragging her down the hall. Makoto flashed back to the time she’d been seized by Junya Kanashiro’s gang and hauled in front of him. Strangely, remembering that terrifying moment steadied her a bit. _You lived through that,_ she reminded herself. _Now live through this._

She stopped struggling. There was no point anyway. His hands were like steel bands. Instead she tried to prepare herself for whatever was coming.

She didn’t have long to wait; if this was the “research ward,” it wasn’t terribly large. They passed an elevator, the large size that could accommodate a gurney. Then a set of bathrooms on one side of the hall. On the other, a door with an unusually large lock. At the end of the hall were swinging doors.

The nurse -- or more likely, hired guard -- dragged her towards the door with the lock. He let her go with one hand to bang on the door. The other was easily large enough to keep hold of her wrists.

From the inside, Makoto could hear the sound of the lock turning. The door opened to reveal Dr. Takuto Maruki. His mouth opened and his eyes widened in a perfect parody of surprise.

“You two know each other,” the guard observed. “Great. Let’s all be friends.” He shoved Makoto through the door and slammed it behind him.

Makoto quickly looked around. There was a bank of computers on one wall. Another wall was completely covered by bookshelves filled with books, tools, and sample jars. A gurney sat in the center of the room. At least it was made up with what looked like clean linens.

The guard shoved Makoto down onto the gurney and held her there with arms like tree trunks.

“What are you doing?” Maruki protested as Makoto fought, trying to wriggle free.

“Maybe nothing,” shrugged the guard. He took a wicked-looking knife out of a hidden holster and held it to Makoto’s throat. “Maybe something. Depends on her.”

Makoto forced herself to stop moving. Her heart pounded in her ears and her chest heaved with shallow, panicked breaths. But she could at least hold her head still and avoid slicing her own throat open.

“Who are you?” the guard demanded.

“Um,” said Makoto. Behind the guard, Maruki was shaking his head vigorously. “Murakami,” she said, giving the name of the author of a book she was reading. “Makoto Murakami.”

The guard narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Over his shoulder, Dr. Maruki was flashing Makoto a “stop” sign - palm up, five fingers splayed out. _What am I supposed to do?_ she thought frantically. _I have to tell him_ something _!_

She hesitated, and the guard jabbed the knife into her throat, just enough to hurt. Maruki folded his index finger down and Makoto realized that he wasn’t telling her to stop -- he was counting down! She didn’t know what he was waiting for, but she could hold out for another three seconds.

Maybe. Probably maybe.

“I’m supposed to start a part-time job here tomorrow. Guess I shouldn’t have tried to come in the back way,” said Makoto, voice shaking. Maruki folded his thumb in.

“Don’t mess with me, girlie,” growled the guard. “What are you, a journalist? Cop? Tell me!”

“Please! I’m not a journalist or a cop. I’m a...high school student,” she said, fudging her age a little. “I’m trying to find out where my aunt was taken….”

As Makoto expounded on her imaginary aunt, Maruki glanced nervously around. Right on time according to his countdown, the guard’s cell phone made a kind of alarm sound. He pulled it out, watched it for a few seconds, then put it back in his pocket and frowned at Makoto.

“How many friends did you bring?”

“Friends?” she said blankly.

“Never mind,” said the guard, grinning cruelly. “It doesn’t matter how many there are. I’ll show ‘em a good time. Doc, you’re coming with me.”

Over his shoulder, Maruki was pointing at a corner of the room behind Makoto. She couldn’t see what was back there, but the gesture was clear. He put his hand down as the guard turned around.

“M-me?” said Maruki nervously. “What do you want me to do?”

“Not be alone with her,” said the guard, voice cold. “Let’s take a walk.”

Wordlessly, Maruki followed the guard out, glancing back at Makoto and shooting his eyes pointedly towards the back wall. The guard slammed the huge door behind them, then the sound of beeping indicated that one of them had punched in a lock code. The keypad near the door turned red.

Telling herself there’d be time to panic later, Makoto hopped up and turned to see what Maruki had been pointing at. To most people, the back wall would simply have looked like a wall. But Phantom Thief Queen knew the minute she saw the vent that it would be large enough to fit into. She grinned and set to work getting the grate off.

Her mind raced as she hid the vent behind a bookshelf and crawled inside. With luck, the guard wouldn’t notice the grate was missing for a few minutes.

_I can’t be that far from the outside,_ she thought. _I didn’t come that far in. So I need to angle towards the outside or I’ll be stuck even further in the hospital._

Mentally recreating her trip inside, Makoto chose a branch of the vent that she thought was likely to lead outside. The thought occurred to her that Maruki might have led her into a maze intentionally, but that seemed unlikely. Whatever else he was up to, he wasn’t on the same side as the guard.

_I have to find a way to talk to him alone,_ she thought, as she crawled her way to freedom. The air was starting to smell fresher, which she took as a sign she was going the right way. Finally, she reached a grate through which she could hear street noise. She kicked at it, hoping the sound wouldn’t carry as far as the lab, and after a few tries, knocked it out and scurried away.


	11. Mad About The Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiho invites Goro and Ann to Dome Town, not realizing they know each other; the outing sours when Shiho has a health crisis and the crowd turns violent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: Angry mob, brainwashing, cult

The next morning, Goro steeled himself to apologize to Suzui. He still thought she was more wrong than he was, and it offended his pride to be the first to apologize. Still, he’d spent the previous day being cold-shouldered by seemingly every girl in school (the boys noticed and some openly laughed about it, while others shot him _better-you-than-me_ looks). That wasn’t an experience he was eager to repeat.

Suzui was waiting for him at the gates, as usual. Surprising; he’d been imagining tracking her down and fighting through a mob of angry girls to get to her.

“Morning,” she said as he approached. He nodded and returned the greeting.

There was a moment of awkward silence while Goro willed himself to speak. It would have been so much easier if he was lying, trying to fool her. But he wasn’t, and so the words stuck in his throat.

Suzui said, “Listen, I wanted to say that I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. I totally lost my cool. You didn’t deserve that.”

Goro shook his head. “I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to.”

Suzui smiled and let him take her books as they walked towards the school entrance. “Whew! That’s a load off! Hey, you want to come with me to Dome Town this weekend? I’m going to invite my BFF.”

He agreed at once. Why not? For once, there was nothing hanging over his head but homework. He even had some money in his pocket, since he had a part-time job and no rent to pay. He could just relax like a normal kid. True, being normal was kind of a comedown from building himself into a near-deity in the Metaverse, but it wasn’t terrible. Not terrible at all.

* * *

Saturday morning, Ann Takamaki and Ryuji Sakamoto were wrapping up a jog around the park. As they did some cooldown stretches, they checked a fitness app they’d both downloaded.

“I’m not gonna give you too much crap about these numbers,” said Ryuji, grinning like an idiot. “After all, I have more experience.”

“Psh. You run faster, but you’re not so consistent. _I_ could keep going all day, _you’d_ wash out after a lap or two.”

Ryuji laughed. “Ha! Yeah, maybe if we were running to a crepe shop.”

Ann’s eyes flashed dangerously, but her phone buzzed before she could come up with a retort. Looking at the phone, she blew out her annoyance in a puff of breath. “Oh, hey. Do you have some time this afternoon? Shiho wants to get together at Dome Town. She’s been going on and on about this upperclassman at her new school. He’s coming too -- she wants me to meet him.”

Ann rolled her eyes, but inside her heart was fluttering. She was glad Shiho had managed to make at least one new friend...and maybe he was cute?

“Why? I mean, I know Suzui but we weren’t really friends.”

Ann gave him a stern look. “So you can keep Dreamboat-senpai busy while we girls talk. Come on, be a wingman!”

“That’s not what that means,” Ryuji groaned, but he already knew he was going to do the favor for Ann.

They decided to head home for showers and then meet up at the Dome Town arcade. There, they quickly found Shiho watching a boy play some kind of VR sword fighting game. He had a headset on, but his fencing moves seemed strangely familiar. Ann’s feeling of unease grew until he took off the headset, and….

“You!” she gasped.

Goro Akechi blinked at her. “Takamaki? And Sakamoto?” he said blankly.

“You all...know each other?” said Shiho.

“We sure do,” Ryuji growled, instinctively balling his fists.

“What are you doing with my best friend, Akechi?” said Ann severely. “If this is some kind of trick, I _swear_ ….”

The hostility didn’t faze him. He stroked his chin and was silent for a moment.

“Ah,” he said at last. “Let me see if I have this right. Suzui, the school you transferred out of was Shujin Academy. You didn’t tell anyone because you didn’t want them to associate you with the scandal there. Yes?”

“How did you know?” Shiho gasped, astonished. “I mean, you’re right, but how...?”

“Just putting the pieces together. Actually, I’m a bit embarrassed I didn’t figure it out sooner,” he said.

“You really didn’t know?” said Ann doubtfully, looking at Shiho.

Akechi shook his head. “She transferred into my school. That’s all.”

“Is there...some issue between you all?” Shiho asked.

“No,” said Ann and Akechi, at the same time that Ryuji said, “Yes.”

“You can go if you want, Ryuji,” said Ann. “Otherwise, make nice like you promised.”

Ryuji narrowed his eyes at Akechi, who was poker-faced as always.

“Well...let’s walk around and see what there is to do!” said Ann cheerfully. Akechi or no, this was a rare opportunity to see Shiho and she didn’t intend to waste it.

She grabbed Shiho’s arm and wheeled her out of the arcade, leaving the guys to figure things out themselves.

“Is it really okay to leave them back there?” asked Shiho.

“If they get in a fight, I’m betting on Ryuji,” said Ann.

“No way. Akechi-san would wipe the floor with him. You have no idea how strong his arms are.”

“Whaaaaaaat,” said Ann, raising her eyebrows. “What do you know about his arms? Tell me everything.”

Shiho and Ann giggled and looked back at the boys.

Ryuji was glaring daggers at Akechi, who was doing his best to pretend Ryuji wasn’t there.

Eventually, the tension got to Akechi and he said, “Look. If you have something to say to me, say it.”

“‘Kay. Ann might have forgiven you already, but I sure haven’t forgotten what you did to our friends. How come you’re not in jail?”

Akechi sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“What, you just laying low and pretending you had nothing to do with Shido? How about I call the cops right now?”

“Do it. They don’t care. I’ve tried,” said Akechi.

Ryuji stopped walking and turned to face him. “Ren had to do his time and you get off clean?” he said incredulously. “Man, you really piss me off. You’re not better than the rest of us, you pompous douchebag!”

“I’m better than _you_ ,” said Akechi icily. “How do you even stay in a school like Shujin? Do they give scholarships for idiots?”

“You wanna throw down?” Ryuji yelled.

“Shut up, you goon. We aren’t going to have a fistfight right here in Dome Town.” Akechi flicked his eyes over towards the midway, where the girls were waiting in line for ice cream. “I know. Why don’t we have a friendly competition?”

“What kind of competition?” said Ryuji suspiciously.

“Well, we each brought a girl here...not on a date, but still. It’s traditional to win her some kind of prize, right? We’ll see who can get the best one.”

“You want to compete at the carnival games…? Huh. Yeah, all right. You’re on!”

As they made their way through the midway, they found they were fairly evenly matched. Akechi was more skilled at games like darts and shooting, but Ryuji had more raw power and excelled at games like batting and pitching.

Eventually they found a boxing game that required both strength and timing, and agreed that would be a good competition. After several rounds, though, their scores were almost a dead heat.

Ryuji wiped sweat from his brow and said, “I gotta say...I knew you had some fight in ya, but I’m pretty impressed.”

Akechi shrugged. “It’s easy. I just visualize Shido’s face on the bag and it inspires me to pound it into hamburger.”

Maybe because of the combination of heat and endorphins, that struck Ryuji as hilarious and he started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” said Akechi, annoyed.

“Ah, it’s funny that we both picture the same thing. I mean, I have my own dumbass dad but same diff. Plus I actually did kick _your_ dad’s ass, so I already know what that’s like.”

“That’s right, you did, didn’t you? I admit I’m curious about that. What happened?”

“Ha! Let’s go a few more rounds and I’ll tell ya all about it.”

Ann and Shiho, meanwhile, got their ice cream and drifted around aimlessly, eating and chatting. Ann knew she couldn’t _not_ tell Shiho about Akechi, but she wasn’t looking forward to breaking her heart. Maybe it could wait until the end of the day.

They went on a roller coaster -- not a great idea right after the ice cream -- then sang karaoke and bought the terrible recording as a souvenir. They browsed in a gift shop and watched little kids climbing around on a playground set. 

Ryuji and Akechi caught up to them around the kiddie area, each holding an armful of stuffed animals.

“What the heck is this?” said Ann.

“We won these for you,” said Ryuji proudly. “Except for this one, this is mine.” He extracted a plush guitar from the pile and gave the rest to Ann.

Shiho giggled. “Is this what you two have been up to? How many are there? Hmm...you know, if you each had a couple more, you could exchange them for one big one.”

“You can exchange them?” said Akechi with great interest.

“Sure, just take them over to the arcade. That’s where they keep all the big prizes.”

Ryuji and Akechi looked at each other. Ryuji grabbed the plushies back from Ann, giving her the guitar to hold onto. Then they both ran off.

Ann and Shiho headed over to a stage where performances of all kinds happened all day long. A juggler was up now. As they sat in the bleacher seats, Ann decided it was finally time.

“Shiho, I have to ask you something. About Akechi.”

“Isn’t he _amazing?_ ” Shiho gushed, before Ann could say another word. “The first day we met he was like a prince in a fairy tale!”

“A detective prince?” said Ann, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, I know. About that -- ”

“You think I’m being ditzy!” said Shiho with a gasp. “That’s why I didn’t tell you who it was.”

“No, that’s not it at all. It’s just, uh...you know he’s different when he’s not on the TV?”

“Of course I know that,” said Shiho sternly. “We spend all day together. Plus, I know _you_. I know you’re different than you are in the magazines.”

“Hey! I’m always me,” Ann protested. Shiho gave her a deeply skeptical look. “More or less...Anyway, that’s not exactly what I meant.”

“What _exactly_ did you mean, then?”

“Akechi is...spoken for.”

Shiho froze. “Spoken for? He has a girlfriend? He’s never talked about a girlfriend.”

“More like a soulmate,” said Ann.

“You’re kidding. How in the world do you know that?”

“Because I dated said soulmate when he lived in Tokyo,” said Ann wistfully. “Sorry to say, but your streak of crushing on unavailable guys is still going.”

Shiho’s eyes got bigger and bigger until Ann thought they might float away like a couple of balloons. Her expression of shock was so perfect Ann couldn’t resist a little giggle...which quickly turned into a snort-laugh. Shiho started too and before long they were laughing together just like the old days.

Ryuji and Akechi came back as Ann and Shiho were wiping away tears. Ryuji was carrying an enormous teddy bear piggyback. He sat it down on the bleachers next to Ann.

“Not bad, huh?” he said.

“We combined all our prizes. Except that,” said Akechi, rolling his eyes at Ryuji’s guitar.

“Wow,” said Shiho, smiling happily. “I can’t believe you two won that thing in just a day. Our heroes.”

“Llllllaaaaaaadies,” said Ryuji with a big cheesy grin.

“It’s getting late,” said Akechi, glancing at his watch. “Want to call it a day?”

“Oh, one more ride,” said Shiho. “Maybe we can bring Kuma-san along with us.”

Akechi frowned but didn’t say anything. Ryuji hoisted the bear onto his back again, and they headed off to see if there was a ride with a short line.

The ride with the shortest line turned out to be a roller coaster where the entrance was up a flight of stairs. Shiho hesitated briefly, but gamely started tramping up the stairs behind Ryuji and Ann. As she climbed the steps, she could feel her legs getting heavier and her vision begin to swim. She wavered a little and gave a short cry.

Ann turned around just in time to see Shiho collapse backwards down the stairs, but she didn’t have time to scream -- Akechi was right behind Shiho and caught her easily.

“Sakamoto!” called Akechi. “See that building over there with the red flag on it? That’s the medical building. Run over there and get some help!”

Ryuji didn’t hesitate. He took a quick look at the situation and vaulted off the staircase, hitting the ground in a roll that turned into a sprint. Meanwhile, Akechi scooped up Shiho and carried her down the stairs.

“That was nuts!” said Ann, following closely. “I can’t believe how lucky it was that you were behind her.”

“It wasn’t luck,” said Akechi grimly. “I stayed behind her just in case. And I found the medical building before I even met up with you today.”

“Why?” asked Ann, astonished.

“It’s not the first time this has happened. She needs some help getting around, she just doesn’t want to admit it.”

Two paramedics jogged up with a stretcher. Akechi laid Shiho down and the paramedics carried her to the medical building, Akechi and Ann trailing after.

They found Shiho lying on a curtained-off bed where it was cool and dim, a nice change from the overwhelming humidity outside. She had already woken up and was sipping some ice water.

“I did it again,” she said, as soon as she saw Akechi.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” he said lightly.

“After all this time...after all the work you’ve done,” said Ann. “It’s not fair!”

Akechi pressed his lips together, resisting the urge to say something.

Shiho balled her fists up in frustration. “I hate…” she began, then stopped herself.

“Go ahead, Shiho. Get it all out,” said Ann softly.

“I hate that I can’t do normal things!” Shiho exclaimed, gripping the sheets tight. “I hate that I can’t play volleyball anymore! I hate living in this broken-down, worthless body! And _I hate that people keep telling me I’m fine when I’m not!_ ”

Ann sat down on the bed and wrapped her arms around her best friend. “Shiho,” she said softly, “Your body’s not worthless. It’s unbelievably strong and you can’t tell me otherwise.”

Akechi stepped outside the curtained area and took a breath, glad that there was someone else to deal with the tears this time.

He spotted Sakamoto, who had wandered in with that ridiculous bear.

“Suzui okay? I thought I’d go get the bear, otherwise...well, I didn’t know what else to do,” Ryuji admitted.

“Physically, she should feel better after some water and rest. Mentally...her problems are a lot more severe than I realized. If I’d known she came from Shujin, I would have guessed much sooner.”

“Now you know why we hadda do something about that asshole Kamoshida. Who knows how many other girls he woulda left like that.”

“Why didn’t you kill him?” said Akechi.

Ryuji shrugged. “We let Ann decide. She thought he’d suffer more if he lived.”

Akechi looked back towards Ann with a new respect. She could be ruthless after all.

Ann called over to Akechi and waved him back in. Ryuji patted him on the shoulder as he left, which was weird, but he didn’t have time to think about it.

“I wanted to say something to both of you,” said Suzui. “First of all, I wanted to tell you why I blew up at you before, Akechi-san. I was surprised -- you’ve never spoken to me like that.”

Goro nodded. “I know. I’ll be more careful what I say from now on.”

“No -- I want you to tell me the truth. Please. I can handle it. And...I need to hear it.”

Goro nodded, both relieved and surprised. Almost no one who had seen that side of his personality volunteered for more of it.

“Ann-chan,” Suzui continued, “You’ve been so supportive and caring -- I don’t think I could have gotten through all this without you. This is really hard to say….”

Ann’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “What is it? You can tell me anything, you know that.”

Suzui took a deep breath. “It’s...a lot of pressure.”

“What is?”

“Recovery. I’m lucky to have so many people who care about me, I know that, it’s just that everyone’s expectations are so high. If I say I walked a whole block without help, they say I’ll be able to run a 5k in no time.” She shook her head sadly. “There are so many things I still can’t do. May never be able to do. Out of everyone I know, Akechi-san was the only one who was willing to say so to my face. Thank you for that.”

Suzui smiled at Goro. He felt strangely warm and realized he was blushing.

Ann looked horrified. “Oh, Shiho, I’m so, _so_ \--”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry,” said Suzui sternly. “You’ve been the best friend I could ever have. You couldn’t have known how I was feeling. I tried so hard to hide it.”

The girls embraced and Goro slipped silently back out. Sakamoto was standing by the front window, peering out like a rubbernecking tourist.

“What’s up?” said Goro, also looking.

“Dunno,” said Sakamoto. “Everybody’s running around for some reason.”

A medic burst through the door with an arm around someone holding a compress over a freely bleeding head wound. Goro barely had time to wonder why they weren’t carrying the person on a stretcher when a second medic came in carrying a shrieking woman firefighter-style.

“Hey you guys,” shouted the second medic.

Goro and Ryuji looked at each other. “Us?” said Sakamoto.

“Yeah, you. Help me out here.”

They followed the medic to one of the little curtained-off cubicles, where he directed them to hold the shrieking woman down on the bed. It was hard to tell, but she seemed to be talking about finding something.

As soon as the medic set her down, she bolted upright again. It took both Goro and Ryuji to hold her down while the medic injected a sedative.

“Make sure she doesn’t go anywhere,” the medic instructed, then dashed off again.

Still struggling and wild-eyed, the woman stared into Goro’s face and hissed, “You have to find them. Find the children! They’re here somewhere!”

“What children? What are you talking about?”

“There’s a secret bunker,” said the woman. “They’re in on it. They’re _all_ in on it. They’re keeping them here somewhere. We have to check everywhere. It’s the only way to expose the truth!”

“Who are ‘we’?” asked Goro.

“Myojo’s shining lights,” said the woman fervently, eyes gleaming. “We follow the star. And we will defend Japan against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

“Cool. Super cool,” said Ryuji, deeply unnerved. At least they didn’t have to hold her down anymore; the sedative was working already and she had stopped struggling. She didn’t look any less crazy, though.

Spotting Goro looking at his phone, Ryuji slapped his arm and said, “What the hell are you doing messing with your phone at a time like this?”

“Looking up Myojo, of course. He seems to be some kind of internet demagogue.”

“That’s…?” said Ryuji blankly.

“It’s a person who stirs up shit like this,” said Goro, putting his phone back in his pocket. He nodded at the increasing chaos; more medics were streaming past, bringing more injured people in.

Takamaki and Suzui came out of Suzui’s cubicle and walked over to meet Ryuji and Goro.

“They told us they needed the bed,” explained Suzui. “I’m feeling better, so….”

“What’s going on?” asked Takamaki.

“Somebody is riling up the crowd outside,” said Goro. “We should get out of here before it turns into a full-on riot.”

The girls agreed and they all headed outside. Immediately, they could all sense that the mood had changed. The crowd was tense and angry now. Somebody was screaming about hidden children and a number of people were shouting in agreement. In just a few minutes, the amusement park had turned into a powder keg waiting for a spark.

A man in a suit started speaking into a microphone at a raised platform nearby. When he spoke, his voice boomed out of the PA system; he must be an employee of the park.

“Everyone, please remain calm,” he said, his own nervousness making his voice shaky. “Dome Town wishes to express our concern for the accusations made, but assures all of you that we are _not_ guilty of these heinous crimes. We ask you all to please calm down for the moment.”

Shouts rose up from the crowd: “Lies!” “Where are the children!” “Myojo shines the light of justice!” “Myojo! Myojo! Myojo!”

Unfortunately, the employee’s position near the entrance to the park had attracted more people to stand there, making it increasingly difficult to get out.

“Let’s go,” said Akechi sharply, jolting the others out of their astonishment. He jerked his head towards the entrance and started pushing through the crowd.

They made it to about the center of the crowd, where they could hear the rattled employee trying to reason with individual people. It wasn’t going well.

He said into the microphone, “Dome Town knows nothing about the accusations, but will cooperate to the fullest extent we can.”

“Prove it! Prove it! Prove it!” chanted the crowd. There were so many of them; many more than it seemed just a moment ago.

“Idiots,” said Akechi. “How can he possibly prove a negative?”

“You’re the idiot,” said a nearby man, face contorted in anger. “Swallowing whatever the complicit media feeds you. Do your own research.”

Out of official words to say, the employee pleaded into the mic, “Of _course_ we aren’t involved in child abuse! Nothing could be further from the truth. Please, everyone. Calm down and we will find a way to prove it to all your satisfaction.”

All around, phones buzzed and dinged simultaneously. Many in the crowd -- perhaps 40%, Goro estimated -- took out their phones and looked at them.

Then all hell broke loose.

The crowd erupted in violence, shouting and surging towards the stage where the hapless Dome Town employee was standing. For the moment, he was high enough up that they couldn’t reach him, but he also couldn’t get down from the platform. He was trapped, surrounded.

“They’re going to kill him!” Shiho cried.

In the blink of an eye, the scene blurred and changed. The sky went dark and the amusement-park crowd was suddenly dressed as soldiers. They were all masked, all identical.

“What the hell!” yelled Sakamoto. “Are you all seeing this too?”

“It’s the Metaverse,” said Goro at once. These must be the soldiers that Ren and Sae encountered before.

“Good job,” said a child-like voice. “Sorry I had to bring you all here like this, but I was kind of in a hurry.”

It was Jose. And for once, he looked worried.


	12. Heart And Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiho's Persona awakens; Goro finally gets to visit his Velvet Room only to find it's not quite what he was expecting....

_Now I see what one embrace can do_  
_Look at me, it’s got me loving you madly_  
_That little kiss you stole_  
_Held all my heart and soul_  


In the Metaverse the crowd was no less angry, but they were more organized. Some of the soldiers were climbing over others, trying to get up to the park employee, whose own Shadow cringed back as far as it could.

“This seems straightforward enough,” said Goro. “If we destroy these things, the crowd will disperse. Correct, Jose?”

Jose shook his head like a sheepdog shaking off water. “No, no, no. You can’t attack them directly. Use this.”

He shoved an object into Goro’s hands.

Goro turned the object over bemusedly. “This is a View-Master.”

Jose nodded earnestly. “Look through it.”

Goro raised the toy to his eyes, not sure what to expect. He’d had a secondhand View-Master as a child, complete with some old sets of 3-D reels to look at: landscapes from around the world, ocean life, dinosaurs. It was one of his favorite toys; it made the dirty, crappy apartment he lived in disappear for a short time, replaced with exotic locales and fascinating creatures. He hadn’t thought about that in years.

When he looked through Jose’s View-Master, instead of seeing still 3-D scenes, he saw the mob scene before him. But something was different. Most of the mob looked insubstantial, like ghosts or afterimages. But one person was solid and clear as day. It was a man wearing a hoodie, sunglasses and a ball cap. Whereas everyone else in the crowd was shouting, jostling, milling around, hoodie guy seemed perfectly calm. He was even texting.

 _ _Texting__ , thought Goro. The pieces snapped into place. This had to be the person inciting the crowd. Who the hell wears a sweatshirt on a hot summer day, anyway?

Lowering the View-Master, Goro found it much harder to pick out the man. Without it, he looked just like all the other Shadows.

“There,” said Goro, pointing. “There’s the guy we’re after.”

“After?” said Ann and Ryuji, lost.

“The one who’s causing all this. If we can take that one down, all this will end.”

“Wait,” said Shiho. “What about that poor park employee? We have to help him if we can!”

There was no time to argue. Goro said, “Alright. Takamaki, take Suzui and go help him. Sakamoto and I will deal with the leader.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Ann shouted. “Shiho doesn’t have a Persona! She can’t be involved in this!”

“She’s here, so she must have potential. We have to move fast or none of this will matter, Takamaki,” Goro argued.

“I want to help,” Shiho insisted.

“ _ _No__ ,” said Ann firmly. “It’s way too dangerous. Shiho, this is serious. You could die.”

Goro said, “Suzui, she’s right. This isn’t going to get any safer. But it’s not her choice, it’s yours. What’s it going to be?”

Shiho looked pale, and frightened, and confused. She looked again at the crowd howling for the park employee’s blood. More were climbing slowly up the platform towards him, while he tried ineffectually to knock them back down.

“I’ll go,” said Ann quickly. “Shiho, __stay here.__ ” She pushed her way through the crowd, lashing people out of her way left and right.

“Please, I’ll do anything!” Shiho cried, turning back to Goro. “What should I do?”

He took her hand, hoping he knew what he was doing. Just touching her was like an electric spark. As he focused, stimulating her will like he had done to so many unsuspecting people before, he found he could feel when it was enough. A little more and she’d be out of her mind like the Shadows he’d made psychotic before.

He let go of her hand. A mask had appeared over her eyes.

“You’ve finally accepted yourself the way you are,” boomed a female voice, seeming to come from everywhere. “The power has always been yours. Now, what will you do with it?”

“I’ll...I’ll make sure nobody goes through what I did,” said Shiho, straining to get the words out. Then she reached up and ripped the mask off her face. “Help me, Vishpala!”

Instantly, a woman on horseback appeared and held out her hand. Shiho took it and the woman hoisted her up onto the horse. Goro barely had time to register Shiho’s new outfit and Vishpala’s metal leg before the horse took off, plowing through the crowd of Shadows and dissipating them like wisps of smoke.

Next to him, Ryuji was staring open-mouthed. “ _ _Damn__. Welp, let’s get the bastard who’s running this shitshow. Uh, where’d you say he was?”

* * *

Normally, when Ann made bad choices, it took her a while to realize it. This time, when she’d chosen to plunge alone into an angry mob of Shadows, she already knew it was a bad idea. She’d just been hoping that her original estimate was pessimistic and she could skate through regardless. After all, she was plenty powerful all by herself -- she didn’t need a whole team to deal with what Futaba called “trash mobs.”

The problem was that these trash mobs were unlike the ones they’d faced before. Somehow, the more Shadows she beat down, the more appeared. It was like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, with Mickey and the endless broomsticks. It was dawning on her that if she couldn’t whittle down the number somehow, she’d be trapped, unable to escape. If that happened, then the Shadows could do whatever they wanted with her.

Ann’s eyes widened and her pulse quickened to dangerous levels. She couldn’t do this, not alone. She’d protected the park employee for the moment, but how many more moments did she have before the Shadows overran her and killed them both? If the boys couldn’t beat the leader like __now__ , she and the employee and Shiho would all be dead. Now she was fighting two battles: the Shadows and her own panic.

Just as she was about to tip over into full hysteria, a giant glowing horse ripped through the crowd of Shadows and they started vanishing by the dozen.

“Shiho,” said Ann softly, looking up at her friend sitting regally atop the horse. She couldn’t help but be awed by the sight. She’d gotten so used to seeing Shiho damaged, Shiho exhausted, Shiho barely hanging on. She looked like a new person now.

Ann smiled. This was what was in Shiho’s soul. It was beautiful.

Shiho looked down at her and smiled back.

Ann had a sudden inspiration. Grinning, she dove into the fray again.

* * *

“Knock it off, you moron!” Goro yelled.

“You got a better idea?” Ryuji yelled back.

“Stop attacking the little ones. Can’t you tell you’re just making more of them? Follow my lead and focus!”

Goro summoned Hereward and attacked with Laevateinn. It took a lot out of him, but it was usually worth it to end the battle sooner (not to mention it was just plain fun to unleash his full power). Unfortunately, the boss had a lot more stamina than the minions. And without a dedicated navigator, they’d have trouble figuring out what types of attacks to use on it.

Beside him, Ryuji summoned William and used God’s Hand. Still the Shadow hadn’t even broken a sweat. It cast Maragidyne, sapping a huge amount of Ryuji and Goro’s remaining strength.

“Forget physical attacks -- without a healer, we’re just running down our batteries,” said Goro. “Use spiritual attacks for now.”

“And then what?” Ryuji demanded, dodging an attack. He had a point. He was a physical fighter and didn’t have a big pool of SP to begin with.

Goro didn’t have an answer. He was swamped with the lesser Shadows he’d just said to ignore. He thought fast, slashing through the Shadows with his sword. They couldn’t eliminate the smaller Shadows entirely, and attacking them only made them more numerous. Yet they also couldn’t focus entirely on the big one with the smaller ones swarming them.

“Hey boys, need a hand?”

Ann and Shiho joined them, Shiho’s horse-Persona carrying the park employee on its back. The cavalry had literally arrived.

“How did you get rid of the Shadows?” Goro demanded.

“I dunno,” said Ann. “I just threw all the items I had in my pockets at them.”

Goro swiveled his head and saw a huge number of Shadows running around confused, or moaning in despair, or asleep. Whatever she’d been saving up, it must have been potent. __And she didn’t kill them, just disabled them. Clever.__

“That outfit has pockets?” said Ryuji, wrinkling his brow. “Where?”

“Shut up, Sakamoto,” Goro snapped. “Suzui, Takamaki, help us with this thing.”

Goro demonstrated which one of the identical soldiers to focus on, then took a moment to observe and collect his thoughts. His concentration was broken when the boss Shadow cast Brain Jack and he was temporarily brainwashed, but it didn’t last long; he surmised that Suzui had countered with Energy Shower. He wasn’t sure if she knew innately to use that ability, or if Ann or Ryuji had told her, but it worked.

Ideas streaked through Goro’s mind like lightning. He lifted a hand to his chin. Beside him, Ryuji took a Miracle Punch to the face.

“You gonna do something or what?” said Ryuji, annoyed. “We’re getting killed out here!”

Eyes still a little glazed from being pulled out of his thoughts, Goro called out, “Energy Shower the Shadows, Suzui.” 

“What?” said Ann and Ryuji.

“Do it!”

Vishpala’s power flooded through Suzui. She did her best to direct it out towards the Shadows.

All around them, the soldier Shadows slowly stopped moving, took off their masks, and dissipated into smoke. More crowded in from the fringes, but at least there weren’t any new ones. For the first time, it felt like the battle was winnable.

Goro directed Suzui to keep up the Energy Shower and Takamaki to heal, while he and Sakamoto pounded the boss with everything they had.

As his minions vanished before him, the leader seemed to grasp how the battle was going. He turned his attention on Shiho, hitting her with a desperate attack that nearly knocked them both out.

Ann ran to her friend’s side, eyes blazing.

“Panther,” said Goro. “Allow me.”

She nodded fiercely. “Get ‘em, Crow.”

Goro took out the leader with a coup de grâce that scattered pieces of Shadow all over a five-foot radius. As soon as the leader was gone, all the remaining minions melted back into the scenery, as if they’d never been there.

When the soldier costume was gone, all that was left standing was a regular guy in a hoodie. It was much like the Mementos missions the Phantom Thieves went on.

“Who sent you?” said Goro calmly.

The man shuffled uncomfortably. “No one sent me, dude. I figured it all out myself.”

“Figured what out?”

“The clues. I broke their code.” The man smirked. 

“You stirred up an angry mob and nearly killed someone!” said Ann, outraged.

For just a moment, the man looked abashed. “I wasn’t trying to do that. Things got out of hand…” Then he shook his head. “Look, you don’t get what we’re up against. A crime ring made up of elites. They use symbols for everything they do so they can communicate in plain sight. The real meaning is kept __sub rosa__. That means under the rose --”

“I know what it means. And I know what a symbol is,” Goro snapped. He took a calming breath. “If I wanted to know more, where would I go?”

“Myo-dot-jo,” said the man. “Seek the light of truth.”

Then he vanished.

Goro nodded. “As I suspected. That’s why Energy Shower worked so well on them.”

“What? Why?” said Shiho.

“Simple. They’re brainwashed. You deprogrammed them.”

“Whoa,” said Ann, awed.

Shiho’s eyes were huge as she looked Ann up and down. Then she turned and did the same to Goro, then Ryuji.

“The outfit. I know, I know,” said Ann with a sigh. “Yours looks great, by the way.”

Shiho’s subconscious had chosen a white suit for her rebellious spirit. At first glance, it looked similar to Feather Crane’s white outfit on Phoenix Featherman R. On closer examination, it was a two-piece track suit with racing stripes. It was fitted, but not revealing like Ann’s. The stripes were accompanied by a row of short but sharp-looking spikes on the arms and legs. The back of the jacket was also covered in the same pointy studs.

Ann and Ryuji started arguing about what her code name should be.

“She doesn’t need a code name. I don’t need a team,” said Goro. “You all just go back to your regular lives. You don’t have to worry about this.”

“Psh, stop pretending you’re some kinda cool lone-wolf type,” Ryuji scoffed. “You woulda got stomped if it wasn’t for us.”

“After everything we’ve been through together, do you really think we’d leave you to fight all these things alone?” said Ann.

Flustered, Goro mumbled something unintelligible. He really had thought that. But once again these insufferable do-gooders were insisting on butting in; he supposed he should stop being surprised.

“I need a code name?” said Shiho.

Goro sighed in resignation. “If you wish to continue here. With...us. I guess.”

“The code name is for safety,” said Ann. “Mine’s Panther.”

“I’m Skull,” said Ryuji, adding a little air guitar flourish.

“And I’m Crow,” said Goro.

“Your outfit is white and sparkly. How about...Swan? Or Diamond?” said Ann. “Ooh, or Crème?”

“Stop thinking with your stomach,” Ryuji said. “It’s gotta be something cool but feminine, like...Chardonnay or Angel.”

Goro and Ann immediately started making fun of him, but a slow smile spread across Shiho’s face.

“Everyone, I’ve got it,” said Shiho, raising her voice to be heard about their bickering. They all quieted and looked at her expectantly.

“Spike,” she said firmly.

* * *

It turned out that they all had the familiar Metaverse Navigator apps on their phones once more. Goro exited, bringing them all back to the real world. There was still a crowd milling around in confusion, but at least the violence was over. Goro’s eyes flicked around the scene, looking for the man in the hoodie, but he had already slipped away.

Police had arrived and were beginning to take charge of the situation. It looked like they were asking questions rather than using force, which was a good sign. Things could have been much, much worse.

The park employee was being taken away by paramedics.

“Did we do it? Is he safe?” asked Shiho, voice hoarse with fatigue.

“It looks like it,” said Ann encouragingly.

Goro had the opposite thought, but he didn’t say anything. The employee wasn’t dead, but he still might have had a mental shutdown. He made a mental note to check the news later.

Meanwhile, Shiho desperately needed rest. Ann made arrangements to take her home and Ryuji took off on his own, leaving Goro alone.

He took a moment to think, trying to organize his experiences into something useful. The first thing he needed to decide was whether he really wanted anyone besides Ren on his team. Everything else would flow from that choice, but he found it hard to pin down his own thoughts. Instead of going home, Goro decided to hang out at Jazz Jin for a while. Maybe the music would clear his mind. It had worked before.

* * *

Heading down the stairs into Jazz Jin was like dipping into a refreshing pool on a hot day. He found his usual seat, ordered a drink, and felt instantly at home.

There were times when he was so focused on something that he had to force himself to stop thinking about it, to get some necessary distance. So he pushed away all thoughts of Ren, Sae, Suzui, Myojo, soldiers and conspiracies, closed his eyes, and listened to the music.

The next thing he knew, he was pitching headfirst into something unidentifiable. He couldn’t see anything, but something rustled around him as he flailed his limbs: hollow plastic balls.

“What the hell?” he sputtered, batting the little balls away and hoisting himself out of the pit.

“Good job,” said Jose, watching.

“Let me stop you right there,” said Goro. “‘Good job’ is not a greeting. Say ‘hello’.”

“Oh. Hello. What should I say when I want to convey that your performance was satisfactory?”

Goro narrowed his eyes. “Um. Good job will do for that. What do you mean by ‘my performance’?”

“You did well with the Shadows. I’m glad you were able to use the tool I gave you,” said Jose. “It was lucky your friends were there to help!”

Instead of answering, Goro sighed heavily and looked around the room. Everything was blue. Aside from the ball pit, there was a Ski-Ball table, a set of laser tag armor complete with laser guns, one of those inflatable clowns that bobbed back up when you punched it, and a number of other toys and games. It was like a monochromatic Chuck E Cheese.

“Is this...my Velvet Room?” asked Goro. “Why is it full of toys?”

“Only you can explain that,” said Jose. “The decor springs from your heart, after all.”

“Why would I want all this childish crap?” Goro said, kicking at it irritably. “Same reason my attendant is a little kid?”

Jose shook his head earnestly. “No. I’m just a substitute. Normally Lavenza would be taking care of you, but she’s needed elsewhere. Our Master, Igor, is away too.” The worried look crossed his face again.

“That’s fine. I’ll figure things out on my own.”

Jose nodded, but didn’t look any happier.

Goro wandered around the room, taking a look at all the items. “Jose, about those friends you mentioned….”

Jose perked up and nodded brightly.

“I’m not really a ‘friends’ person. Not a team player. Do you understand? I prefer to work alone.”

“Oh no,” said Jose. “That’s not how it works. You’re supposed to create bonds.”

Goro crossed his arms. “What if I don’t want to?”

Jose abruptly turned and dove head-first into his little toy car, digging around and tossing out cards, drinks, and other random items. He came up with a book almost as big as he was, which he opened and showed to Goro. Many of the pages were black, but several sections were readable.

“Your predecessors had the power to absorb and fuse together any number of Personas. Yaldabaoth gave you a somewhat different gift. The ability to open __others’__ hearts. Or destroy them.”

“I already know that,” said Goro, wondering if Ren’s attendant had been this useless.

Jose frowned. “Maybe it will help to look at the Compendium. Let’s start with Justice.”

He flipped to one of the readable sections and Goro looked through the entries. Each had an illustration and description of some creature. The Justice section was filled with angels, but he also found Robin Hood and Loki there.

“These are...mine?” he asked.

“That’s right! Your arcana is Justice. Most people can only use one Persona, but you’re a wild card. You can use any Justice Persona you want.”

“The Phantom Thieves said something similar to me once. They thought I should be able to use more than two Personas,” said Goro, thinking back on his fight with them in Shido’s palace. “What about Ren, what’s his arcana? I thought he used any and all.”

“That’s right. Most wild cards aren’t limited to a single arcana. It took my master for-ee-eee-e-ver to figure out how you’re different.” Jose flipped to another section of the book. “Now look at this. The Empress.”

Goro looked through the pages. Astarte, Yaksini, Hariti, Titania, Kali. Queens and mothers. Very different from the male angels of the Justice arcana. “This chapter is also visible,” he observed. “Does that mean I can use these, too?”

“Maybe!” said Jose, waving his arms in excitement. “That’s what we think! You wanna try?”

“How many Personas can I summon at one time?”

“Five to start.”

Goro reflected, but it didn’t take him long to grasp what an incredible power this would be, if it worked as Jose suspected. Ren’s ability to swap Personas on the fly made him nearly unstoppable. Even without his friends. A smug grin spread across Goro’s face. __If I can do what he does, there’s no need for anybody else. Perfect!__

“Let’s try it,” he said to Jose. He was tempted to start with Kali, the goddess of destruction, but settled on Hariti, a Persona with healing and refreshing abilities. Healing was missing from his current repertoire.

Jose nodded happily and recited an incantation. Hariti appeared, a woman with horns swathed in silk and carrying an infant.

__“I am Hariti. I shall become a mask of affection to guard you, like a mother watching over her weak child…”_ _

Goro started to tell her he could do without the condescension, but before he could complete the thought, Hariti’s essence filled him with a pleasant, protective feeling. He patted Jose on the head absently.

“See?” said Jose, smiling. “Look, you can summon not only Empress and Justice, but also Lovers, Strength, and Star!”

“Just those? What about the other arcana? Do I need to do some kind of feat of strength or test of intelligence?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. These represent your bonds. Empress -- Sae Niijima. Lovers -- Ren Amamiya. Strength -- Lala Escargot. Star -- Shiho Suzui. You opened all their hearts and now they’re lending you their strength.”

“Are you telling me,” said Goro through his teeth, “That the only way. To fully exploit my power. Is to __make friends__.”

“You got it!” said Jose, bouncing on his feet.

“What Very Special Episode hell is this?” Goro grumbled.

“It’s what your predecessors did,” said Jose matter-of-factly. “You don’t really __have__ to, I guess, but you’ll never be as powerful as them if you don’t.”

Dammit. That was a direct hit straight to the pride. Goro couldn’t be the __worst__ Velvet Room guest. He just couldn’t let that happen, no matter what.

“Fine. I’m in. Keep me updated on the status of that book.”

“It’s a deal,” said Jose, holding out his hand.

Goro shook it. He felt something he could only describe as a spiritual tremor, like someone had dropped a rock into the pond of his soul and ripples were spreading out from the impact. He felt somewhat shaken, but not in an entirely bad way.

“Oh!” said Jose suddenly. He snapped his fingers and a door appeared. “You can go home if you want.”

Goro did want. He stepped through the door and found himself back in Jazz Jin.

The lights were on and Muhen was tallying receipts with the bartender.

 _ _Oh my God.__ He’d slept through closing time. A furious blush rose on his cheeks as he considered whether he could get to the door without Muhen noticing.

“Akechi-kun,” said Muhen, getting up from the bar. Too late.

This situation was so embarrassing Goro had no words. “I...um...guess I fell asleep,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“You looked like you needed the rest,” said Muhen, eyeing him. “Listen, you take care of yourself, alright? I’ve got enough to worry about.”

Goro nodded and scurried off into the night, hoping he could still catch a train.


	13. Fools Rush In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shido conspiracy spreads its tendrils across Japan; Makoto and Maruki join forces; Akechi meets a potential confidante

In his personal VIP room in his exclusive nightclub, Wada ordered another round of drinks. Beside him, a good-looking young man took selfies with the buffet of beautiful club girls Wada had assembled. Wada allowed him to take all the pictures he wanted -- encouraged it, in fact -- because this particular young man was an influencer. He had a not-inconsiderable following on InstaYou, and this would attract even more.

_Influencer_ , Wada thought, laughing tipsily to himself as he sipped his fourth drink. _I’m influencing the influencer, so what does that make him? Nothing but a dumb kid who spends way too much time online. Then again, that’s what they used to say about me and now look._ Wada nodded at his own sage wisdom, trying to ignore the phone buzzing away in his pocket.

He’d already explained to his business partner that he was busy tonight, doing something that would benefit them both, but the old fossil didn’t understand all this new-fangled Internet malarkey. What a pain in the ass. So some college chick discovered the mental shutdown ward, so what? Shido’s big confession about the Metaverse sounded crazy enough that 30% of the public thought he was on drugs. Practically nobody understood or believed the truth behind mental shutdowns. Hell, Wada himself didn’t really get it.

Still, he could only ignore his business partner’s calls for so long. “‘Scuze me, duty calls,” said Wada, waving the phone at the influencer. He doubted the young man even noticed he was gone as he slipped away.

Safely behind the desk in his private office, he called Maeda on the burner phone he dedicated to that purpose. While it rang, he pulled out his real phone and used it to browse the latest celeb nip slips.

“About time. Where have you been, you moron?” Maeda sounded way too sober for a Saturday night.

“I told you,” said Wada. “Bringing in a new lieutenant for our cause.”

Maeda grunted dismissively and moved on to business. “Makoto. Niijima. Does that name ring any bells?”

“Yeah, yeah. The girl who found the mental shutdown ward. Look, this isn’t a disaster.” Wada raised his voice and spoke over Maeda as he started to say something. “This is an opportunity! If she blabs, we can just use it as a new plot point. Let it slip that Shido has a secure facility where all the mental shutdown cases will be taken care of. All the broken will be made whole, blah blah blah. The public will eat it up with a spoon.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” growled Maeda. “I know we can spin it -- I was spinning stories when you were in short pants eating paste. It’s the girl’s background. She’s Sae Niijima’s sister!”

“Who?” said Wada, thumb-typing the name into his phone to see if she’d ever had a wardrobe malfunction.

“Niijima. She was tracking down the Phantom Thieves last year. She built most of the case against Masayoshi Shido. She has access to a lot of sensitive information about our former alliance, can you understand that?”

“Oh, her,” said Wada, scrolling through news results. “Hot. She’s defending Akechi, I guess?”

“Why should Akechi need any defending?” said Maeda sharply. “Shido let him off the hook, same as you and me.”

“‘Course he did. No need for Akechi to sell the two of us out now, is there? What’s he up to, anyway?”

“Nothing. Pretending to be an ordinary high-schooler.”

“So what’s the problem? All he needs to do is keep his head down.”

“And if he doesn’t?” said Maeda ominously.

“How many times do I have to tell you, it doesn’t matter what Akechi says. It doesn’t matter what anyone says except Myojo. The truth is just one storyline out of many and _ours is the best_. It’s Must-See TV! Honestly, Maeda, you’ve spent your whole career in the broadcast industry. How do you not know this?”

“Used to be people could tell the difference between a sitcom set and their own living room,” Maeda grumbled.

Wada drained his glass and spun around in his chair. “Well, isn’t it lucky for us that times have changed?”

He ended the call without waiting for a response and tossed the burner phone in his desk drawer. Then he forgot the entire conversation and went back out to party.

On the other end of the line, Maeda slammed his phone down on the desk. He had intentionally bought the most indestructible mobile phone on the market, but dammit, it still didn’t have that satisfying feel that the old corded receivers had back in the ‘80s. Those things had heft.

Maeda’s bigger problem, though, was that his partner was a callow idiot with the attention span of a dead spider. With Shido at the helm, the different parts of his organization worked harmoniously, like spokes in a wheel. Maeda, although one of the major spokes, had severely underestimated how much control he would have without someone like Shido around to keep everyone in line.

With a quick text, Maeda sent a man to tail Makoto Niijima for a few days. If she wasn’t up to anything, fine. But if she _was_ snooping around, he’d be ready. After the Phantom Thieves debacle, he wasn’t going to be caught unawares again.

* * *

Makoto pushed her way through the lunchtime crowds, looking for a certain cafe. After escaping from the hospital, she’d brainstormed ways to get in touch with Dr. Maruki. She didn’t have his contact information, and for all she knew, his contacts were monitored anyway. It was too dangerous to hang around the hospital hoping to see him in person, not to mention how long it could take.

Finally, just as she was about to give up and ask Sae for help, it occurred to her that she might be able to send him a secure email through St. Luke’s online patient portal. So she signed up for an account with St. Luke’s and chose Takuto Maruki from the list of doctors. Just like that, she was able to send him a secure message asking to meet up.

When she found the right cafe, she peered around the room and saw him waving her over. He’d found a relatively secluded spot where a table was mostly hidden by a floor-to-ceiling divider. Makoto took the seat with the back to the divider.

“Good to see you, Makoto,” said Maruki. “How have you been?”

“Busy with my university courses,” she said neutrally.

His face lit up in a warm smile. “That’s great. I’m glad to hear it. Do you know -- are the others doing alright?”

“They’re fine,” said Makoto, allowing a small smile. Despite all that had happened, Makoto had always felt Maruki’s intentions were good.

The doctor let out a relieved puff of breath. “I admit, I was a bit worried after that Dome Town incident -- that _was_ you guys, wasn’t it?”

Makoto shook her head. “Only Ann, Ryuji and Akechi. Ann texted us all about what happened. Aside from the Metaverse angle, the Dome Town incident and the mental shutdowns don’t seem to have any relation -- yet they must be connected somehow, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I was thinking along the same lines,” said Maruki. “I only wish I had more useful information to tell you.”

“Start at the beginning,” Makoto suggested.

Maruki sipped his coffee and gave a little “agh” as it burned his tongue. Looking chagrined, he set the cup down. “I guess this all starts with St. Luke’s. I did my residency there. My mentor contacted me and asked me to come back to medicine to see what I could do for the mental shutdown patients.”

“What exactly did he ask you to do?”

“Oh -- nothing sinister, I promise. I’m supposed to look after the patients and see if I can find a cure, that’s all.”

“If that’s all, why the secrecy? Who was that man at your lab?”

“I don’t know,” said Maruki, looking troubled. “It was strange, of course, but I thought he was just there to make sure nobody...unauthorized...came in. Okay, okay, it’s sketchy. I’ve been focusing on the work,” he admitted.

“How’s that coming along?”

“Slow. I think Akechi-kun might be able to help but he’s not answering my calls.”

“Akechi? Why?”

“A while ago he had a dissociative episode, but he managed to pull himself out of it. I’d like to know how.”

“Dissociative episode…” Makoto murmured. “You mean when he lost his memory?”

“Precisely. Whatever happened to him, it happened in the Metaverse and it was undone there too. It made me think...perhaps my mental shutdown patients are also experiencing an extreme dissociative fugue. Akechi’s experience may hold some clues to how to help them.”

“And he’s not answering, huh? Well, I know where he lives,” said Makoto dryly. “Meanwhile, take a look at this. This is everything I could find on the mental shutdown victims.” She took a scrapbook out of her bag and handed it to him.

Maruki’s eyes widened as he looked through it. “This is incredible,” he said. “Names, dates, locations, news articles -- fantastic work, Makoto. Did you do any data mining?”

“Kind of,” she said, sitting up a little straighter. “I put all the information in a spreadsheet, but all that clarified is that these people have absolutely nothing in common.”

A smile spread slowly across Maruki’s face. “Oh, but they do. People collapse or faint and get taken to the hospital every day. What these particular people have in common is that they’re notable enough to rate a newspaper report.”

“Do you think so?” said Makoto doubtfully. “Not just because they’re mental shutdown cases?”

“No. This only represents around half of my ward. There are far more mental shutdowns than have been covered in the papers.”

“If that’s true, then...is someone covering them up?”

“How about I take this with me and see what I can glean from it, and you set up a meeting with Akechi-kun?”

Makoto readily agreed.

* * *

On the other side of the thin divider, an average-looking middle-aged salaryman was typing into his phone. _Little Sis met with Dr Death. They knew each other. They think they can cure the Incurable._

It took longer than usual to get a reply. He dipped a biscotti into his coffee as he waited. Finally it came: _Nobody can cure the Incurable. Keep me updated on their progress._

* * *

“Sounds like things are moving fast,” Ren observed. “I got a few days to rest up between being introduced to the Velvet Room and being targeted by Shadows.”

“You had no experience. I’m practically a Metaverse elder statesman,” said Goro. He was chatting on the phone while strolling along a street filled with storefronts that looked like they hadn’t been changed in decades. He passed an antique shop with sun-faded furniture in the window, a boutique clothing shop with outdated clothes displayed, and a tiny restaurant with no one tending the counter, before finding the shop he was looking for.

“Is it a prison?” asked Ren.

At the same time, Goro opened the door, jingling a set of bells. “What?” he said, thinking he’d misheard.

“The Velvet Room. Does it look like a prison for you?”

Goro paused for a fraction of a second before responding with a crisp, “No.”

“Maybe you’ll have better luck with it than I did, then.”

Goro looked around; this was the place Chihaya had recommended to him. It was darker and dustier than he expected, but then again, it would be strange for an occult bookstore to be clean and modern. He found the tarot section and started looking at decks.

As he browsed, Goro said, “You said Lavenza was there. I just have Jose, that weird little muppet from Mementos.”

“She wasn’t quite herself at the time, though….” Ren lapsed into a thoughtful silence. “What about Igor?”

“No clue. I didn’t see anyone but Jose. He told me that I ‘unlocked’ some extra powers by making friends. He said I gained the powers of four arcana.” He sighed dramatically. “That sounds even more absurd when I say it out loud.”

“If you were wondering how I got so powerful so fast, that’s how I did it,” said Ren matter-of-factly.

Looking at an information sheet helpful pinned to a bookshelf, Goro said, “There are 22 major arcana. Are you telling me you made 22 friends in under a year? How did you find them?”

“No particular way. When I met someone I liked, I spent time with them. That’s all.”

Goro’s eyes narrowed. He put the call on mute and waved it around in fury. “Unbelievable! You! Are! Unbelievable!” he growled at the photo of Ren’s face. After that outburst, he took a deep breath, composed himself, and took the call off mute. “What if you never met anyone you liked?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

Ren laughed. Goro did not join him. His eyes narrowed again as he waited in stony silence for Ren to finish laughing at his perfectly reasonable question.

“I thought you were kidding,” said Ren, finally.

“I’m not leaving things to _luck_ ,” said Goro, spitting out the word with mild distaste. “I’ll be taking a more structured approach. I’m buying a deck of tarot cards and I’ll use it to fill in the blanks. The...eighteen...blanks.” He resisted the urge to complain that this was the most impossible task he’d ever been set to.

“Am I one of the unlocked ones?” asked Ren.

“Of course you are. You’re represented in my psyche by the Lovers.”

“Just like Chihaya said, right?”

“Aside from the obvious, Chihaya told me the Lovers represent a choice. A crossroads. Was I the same for you?”

“You were Justice for me,” said Ren.

“Really? How peculiar.”

“I didn’t choose it, but...no, I get it.”

Goro wasn’t sure he did, so he simply said, “Interesting,” and made a mental note to come back to this point later.

He compared two decks, a modern one and a more traditional one. Besides that basic dichotomy, there were all sorts of different themes -- fantastic and real places, artistic movements, animals, even various religions. He picked up a cat-themed deck and wondered if it would make a good gift for Ren, before shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the whole concept and putting it hastily back on the shelf.

“Can I help you?”

Goro jumped. The store owner had somehow snuck up behind him and was standing there with a cheerful smile. He was an older man wearing a vest that pulled a little too tight around the belly and a pair of half-moon glasses on a chain around his neck. He was rumpled and his hair was thinning on top, but his eyes twinkled with enthusiasm.

Recovering, Goro said, “Just looking at the tarot decks. You don’t have any more, do you?”

“None of these suit your fancy, eh? It’s important to get just the right deck, you know. Your deck should attract you -- that’s the first step to drawing its energies to you.”

“Oh, I don’t really need that,” said Goro. “I’m just going to push pins in them anyway.”

The store owner looked grievously offended for a moment. But then he pulled back the cloth of a nearby table and took a box out from underneath. He paused a moment before opening the box, sizing Goro up.

“These are overstock,” he said. “You may find your deck in here. Just please --” he held up a hand. “Please don’t harm them. That would be exceedingly bad karma. I can’t be held responsible if you do something so reckless.”

The owner busied himself at a nearby shelf, pretending to sort books, while Goro looked through the box. It was obvious why these had been shoved under a table. They were even more ridiculous than the ones on display. A Christmas deck. A Shonen Jump deck. A deck promoting some long-gone brand of liquor.

“Who was that?” asked Ren, still on the phone.

“Nobody. Store clerk,” said Goro tersely.

“This is exactly what I’m talking about! A chance meeting! That guy could be one of your confidants,” said Ren excitedly.

Goro looked briefly at the old man, who was peering suspiciously over his shoulder. When their eyes met, the man quickly turned back and started pulling books off the shelf and putting them back. The action kicked up some dust and he started coughing. Goro lifted a skeptical eyebrow.

“I don’t think so,” said Goro.

“Are you even trying?” said Ren sternly.

“If you really want to help, why don’t you give me the names of your confidants?”

“I’m pretty sure there are more than twenty decent people in Tokyo,” said Ren.

“You’re a hopeless optimist. Anyway, I have to go. Let’s talk later,” said Goro, ending the call and turning back to the box of tarot decks.

He paused at a Phoenix Featherman deck. It was utterly ludicrous -- what kind of warped mind would even conceive of putting together occult fortune-telling with a low-budget kid’s show? -- but it was executed with utmost sincerity. The artwork was hand-painted, each card’s subject clearly chosen with care. It even had a companion book.

“This’ll do, I guess,” he said to the old man.

“Why don’t you take a minute with the deck?” suggested the man, taking off the plastic wrap. “Make sure it’s really the one for you.”

Goro hesitated, not knowing what to do with it, but also not wanting to admit that to the store owner. Thinking back to Chihaya’s reading, he picked up the deck and shuffled it. Then he dealt three cards in a horizontal row in front of him.

Justice, reversed. Temperance. Death.

“Interesting spread,” said the old man, peering at the cards through his half-moon glasses. “Reversed Justice suggests a situation that is unknowable or unresolveable right now. Logic and reason are taking a backseat.”

Goro grunted in disgust. “Sounds about right. You heard about that mob that attacked a man at Dome Town the other day?”

“Indeed. Hidden influences at work,” said the old man, laying a finger on his nose. “Now, Temperance in this position suggests to me a marshalling of resources. A bulwark between the situation fomenting here --” he waved his hand over Justice “-- and the upheaval suggested by the Death card.”

“Does that mean somebody’s going to die and it will cause disruption?”

“No, the Death card means letting go of the dead weight of the past. Changing to accept the new and reject what isn’t working. Many people find it frightening, of course, but it’s necessary. Can’t reap your harvest without a scythe, after all.”

“That all seems...very accurate,” Goro admitted.

The shopkeeper smiled a huge, toothy grin. “There it is. These cards have chosen you. Take good care of them and they’ll take care of you. Mine have never led me astray.”

“Somehow I suspect they won’t be as accurate when I’m the one reading them.”

The shopkeeper carefully scooped up the deck and put them back in their box, then put the deck into a bag and handed it to Goro.

“How much?” said Goro, reaching for his wallet.

“On the house,” said the old man, still grinning. “May it be an auspicious start to your journey.”

“Thank you. I’m Goro Akechi, by the way.”

“Rei Sutanzu. Drop by anytime. The answer is waiting for your question.”

Goro affected his most charming smile and bowed. _Why me?_ he thought as he went out the door.

* * *

In a small town several hours outside Tokyo, Ren Amamiya scarfed down his dinner while his parents looked on in bemusement.

“The chicken isn’t going to run away, you know,” said his mother, lifting one of the thinly-sliced cutlets to her mouth.

“Mmf,” said Ren. “So good.”

His mother raised her eyebrows. “I’ll take that as a compliment, I guess.”

His father frowned. “You’ve been so _different_ since you came back from Tokyo. What the hell did they do to you out there?”

“Don’t start,” said Ren’s mother with a weary sigh. Her husband had been repeating questions like this ever since Ren’s return and no answer seemed to satisfy him.

Ren swallowed and said nothing. He didn’t want to get into an argument, if only for his mother’s sake.

“Shido-san was right again. The Japanese family is eroding right before our eyes,” grumbled Ren’s father.

Ren gripped his fork tighter. “Dad. Don’t talk about that man around me.”

“Why not?” said his father, as if they hadn’t had this same argument a dozen times since Ren came home. “Shido-san was the only person who knew how to handle this country and now look at it! It’s a nightmare!”

“He’s a criminal and the country is better off without him,” said Ren, even though he knew that it was futile to argue. “Tokyo is not on fire. There were no riots when Shido was arrested. He never had a plan for anything but his own self-interest.”

“That’s not what they say on the news,” said Ren’s father smugly.

“Dad, I was there!” said Ren, exasperated. “Shido had me _arrested and put in jail_. He isn’t a good guy!”

His father shook his head stubbornly. “I wish I knew how they’d brainwashed you. I wish I could fix it.”

Ren sighed and looked down at his plate, not feeling hungry. Behind them, the TV was tuned to the loud news channel that seemed to be on constantly nowadays. He knew he should pay attention, see what lies his parents were being fed today, but he couldn’t bring himself to listen to that channel. It was infuriating, knowing his own parents trusted that garbage more than they trusted him.

_I’m not the one who’s brainwashed_ , he thought defensively. Ren didn’t feel like he’d changed all that much -- he was more confident and happier, perhaps -- but his parents were acting like they’d taken in an imposter or a spy or something.

After weeks of this, Ren was starting to wonder if they were right. Maybe he didn’t belong here. He hadn’t even considered telling them he had a boyfriend. He’d briefly considered telling them about Ann, but he didn’t think they would approve of him dating a _hafu_ either. It was hard to tell what would set them off nowadays.

He cleared the table and helped his mother wash the dishes, mind wandering. The actual reason he’d been gulping his food was because he wanted to get back to the MMORPG he was playing with Mishima online -- a totally normal, innocent explanation. _I should’ve just said that_ , Ren thought. _Changed the subject._ But no matter what he tried to talk about with his parents, somehow the subject always seemed to come around to Shido again.

Safely back in his room, Ren came back to his keyboard to find his idle avatar had collected a number of direct messages. A group in the game that went by “We Are The Starlight” was recruiting again. They had started out as a small clan, but their membership had exploded in recent weeks and they were still gathering more.

It was easy to pick them out by their profile pics -- on joining the clan, members were required to change their profile to show the clan’s star logo. They also tended to stand around in populated areas and proselytize in some strange code that Ren supposed made sense to them, but sounded like gibberish to anyone on the outside.

At first, Ren had been amused by them. Having a weirdo hanging out in the public square ranting cult nonsense gave the MMO a certain...verisimilitude. Now it was starting to creep him out. It seemed like every time he logged on, more profile pics had turned into that same damn star. He thought back to that time in the Metaverse, when Shido had summoned what seemed to be ordinary people and turned them into soldiers.

“What’s up with these WATS people???” he messaged Mishima. “So weird.”

“Don’t get me started on those freaks,” Mishima messaged back. “We’ll be here all night.”

Ren thought that over. He could let it go. It probably didn’t mean anything. This was just a game, not real life. But still, the parallels bothered him. “I’ve got time,” he sent back.


End file.
